This morning Toucher & Rich spoke with one of the owners of a trailer that was used by former Boston Red Sox pitcher Curt Schilling to transport donations to victims of Hurricane Harvey and was allegedly left broken down for months in a Home Depot parking lot in Tennessee before ever making it to Texas. Thomas Latham, owner of American Veterans Trucking, called into the show this morning to talk about the situation following a segment that was aired on NBC Boston about the alleged trailer situation.
Back in August, Latham offered up a 16-foot enclosed trailer for Schilling and “Operation Bullpen” to use to transport collected goods and donations to hurricane victims. The borrowed trailer is co-owned by Latham and his friend, who owns a landscaping company, and could’ve used it during the busy fall season.
The trailer allegedly broke down on the way to Houston to support victims of Hurricane Harvey, and was left behind by a volunteer driver in a Home Depot parking in Tennessee. The trailer has since been repaired but there was still an outstanding $500 repair looming over the trailer, which Schilling claims he paid for with charity money.
According to Latham, he first reached out Schilling on September 2, and has been reaching out to him every week since trying to work things out on getting the trailer repaired and returned to him before the winter weather arrives.
“I was going back and forth, and the buck was getting passed to the volunteer drivers that it was their responsibility,” Latham tells Toucher and Rich, on retrieving the trailer.
Later on September 19, Latham allegedly received pictures from the Home Depot Manager of the broken trailer sitting in the parking, where it had been sitting for three months and was in danger of being removed from the premises. The trailer was then towed, repaired and stored, for a hefty $1,400 bill.
Earlier this week, Latham said enough was enough, so he sent a tweet about the situation and it sparked a Schilling response and a story on the situation by NBC Boston.
Check out their Twitter exchange below:
Won’t resolve it? Been trying for months to get it repaired and a driver to get it back. Given I wasn’t the person that transported the trailer down thanks for tagging me anyway!
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) December 18, 2017
First off you couldn’t be more wrong but more important, the trailer repairs were already paid for out of charity money so I’m unsure what your bitch is.
— Curt Schilling (@gehrig38) December 18, 2017
“We were contacted almost four minutes after it aired, to settle up,” said Latham. He went on to say that last night he went to Schilling’s house and was given $800 to pay for fuels and tolls. While there, Schilling apologized and took responsibility for the situation.
After leaving Schilling’s house, the overnight journey to retrieve the trailer in Tennessee began, forcing Latham to miss his birthday dinner with his kids and family. Currently he’s on his way back to Boston with the trailer, completing a 28-hour round-trip.
Upon arrival, the trailer was filled with diapers, water, life jackets, dog crates and beds, and towels, so Latham’s wife found a local Tennessee animal shelter to donate all the supplies to.
Here’s more on the story with Toucher & Rich:
— By John ‘The Dude’ Hardiman, 985TheSportsHub.com
