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A Local Tragedy Turns a Man into a Hometown Hero

Posted: 11:04 AM Apr 6, 2012
Reporter: Stephanie Midgett

A Local Tragedy Turns a Man into a Hometown Hero

In the face of tragedy, local businessman Bill Leachman is using his story to educate children about the dangers of drugs.

In 2006, Leachman and three friends, Brooks Mitchell, Cornelius Martin, and Lloyd Ferguson, were riding motorcycles in Logan county when a pickup truck crossed the line and hit the group.

Ferguson was uninjured, while Mitchell and Martin were both pronounced dead at the scene.

Leachman was flown to Vanderbilt, where he spent 34 days and had his left leg amputated.

Now, Leachman is telling his story as part of the Warren County Sheriff's Department's "Reach for Your Dreams" program, which sends a "Dream Team" of former drug dealers, addicts, and drug victims like Leachman to local schools to spread the word of dangerous drugs.

The program has a visible impact on students, who sit at attention and listen intently to his story because they recognize him as a familiar name in the area, and because he is proof that drug use can ruin lives.

"He's the one who went through the pain and suffering. He's the one who has the leg gone and his two friends got killed. And it didn't come out of a book, you are looking at the real thing," says Sheriff Peanuts Gaines.

Captain Joe Jakub of the Warren County Sheriff's Office recalls how people are impacted by Leachman's story long after he has told them, "These kids will come up to him and say 'Mr. Leachman how are you doing, how are you feeling? We are praying for you.' and that touches not only the kids but the adults as well."

"You do it or you don't. You go through the sad stuff and you don't dwell on that," is what Leachman says about telling his story. He admits that it can be hard to relive the memories of losing his best friends, but that it is worth doing if it keeps kids from using drugs.

And as for his friends, Leachman believes that they would approve of what he is doing, and he does it to honor their memory.

For educating children about the dangers of drug use and to persevere through tragedy, we honor Bill Leachman as a Hometown Hero.