Community unites to help veteran after carriage crash

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UNION COUNTY, N.C. — A Vietnam War veteran was injured when his homemade, horse-drawn trailer was struck by a tractor-trailer in Union County last Thursday.

On Sunday, more than 350 people brought clothes, equipment and money to a fundraising event to help Roger Howell complete his mission.

Howell lost nearly everything he owned when a tractor-trailer struck the horse-drawn buggy he was living in last week. The accident happened on Highway 601 in Monroe near Hargette Road. Howell, his horses and dog survived. 

Howell had left his home in Tennessee to travel to Niagara Falls.

Last year, doctors gave him weeks to live due to illness caused by exposure to Agent Orange during the Vietnam War.

A local VFW and members of the community helped Howell, along with Charlotte Center City Carriage Tours. They held a fundraiser for him and his animals to help get them back on their journey Sunday on Medlin Road in Monroe.

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