Two volunteers from Tabernacle Baptist Church killed when truck rolls over on mountain road

CARTERSVILLE — Four years to the month when a dozen mission volunteers tumbled from a swinging bridge into a treacherous ravine – killing one – Georgia Baptists are again mourning the loss of life in the same Central American country.

Tabernacle Baptist Church

A vehicle similar to the one involved in last week’s accident, pictured above, is popular because of its high wheelbase and its ability to traverse rough mountainous roads. However, its high center of gravity can cause stability problems. The photo was taken during Tabernacle Baptist Church’s mission to Honduras last year.

Ric Mason, 58, and Perry Goad, 46, both members of Tabernacle Baptist Church, were killed Feb. 6 when their military-style truck was involved in a single-vehicle accident on a mountainous road in an undeveloped part of Honduras. Two other members, Carey Roth, 33, and David Apple, 52, were hurt but did not sustain life threatening injures. Five members of First Baptist Newnan were injured in the accident.

Also killed was Martha Fuller, a member of First United Methodist Church of Newnan.

Signaling for help

The victims were part of a 28-member team from four churches: Newnan First United Methodist, First Baptist of Newnan, Cornerstone United Methodist of Newnan, and Tabernacle. Fuller was the only member of her church to participate on the trip, according to a church secretary.

About 10 people were injured in the accident near the village of Mal Pais, seven hours from the capital city of Tegucigalpa. The group was operating under the auspices of Honduras Outreach, Inc., of Decatur, a nonprofit organization. The group has been sending volunteers to the Agalta Valley for 18 years to improve living conditions of residents through providing running water, installing electricity, and paving roads.

The mission volunteers were on a weeklong trip when their army-type open-air vehicle, common in the area to transport small groups of people, was descending a hill when it lost control. Survivors told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution that it quickly flipped on the unpaved road. Those interviewed by The Index reported the road was in relatively good condition and weather was not a factor.

Immediately after the accident someone managed to find a cellphone with a signal and called the U.S. Embassy in Tegucigalpa, the capital city seven tortuous hours away by car, and pleaded for help. The Atlanta newspaper reported that U.S. Army helicopters scrambled from a base 135 miles away, but could not locate the remote site and had to return to refuel.

At that point the missionaries and villagers built bonfires, hoping the smoke would signal the soldiers. They planted sticks in the ground and attached huge white sheets, hoping the pilots would be able to gauge wind directions as they landed.

“Saints couldn’t have looked better” as the soldiers emerged from the helicopter, Ernest Taylor, one of the group’s leaders and a member of First Baptist Church of Newnan, told the Journal-Constitution.

Joe Westbury/Index

Nancy Cox of First Baptist Church of Mountain Park packs a suitcase for an upcoming mission trip to Honduras on Feb. 16. Cox, who grew up in Tabernacle Baptist Church in Cartersville, knew Ric Mason who lost his life on a mission trip in the country last week. She is saddened by the accident but says “this tragedy did not take God off guard. He remains in total control and knows the number of our days.”

The accident occurred around 10:30 a.m. Honduran time, or 11:30 a.m. Eastern Time, but due to the remote locale news did not make its way to Georgia for several hours. The name of the nearest village, Mal Pais, means “Bad Country” in Spanish.

The accident could have been worse; the group included a team of doctors, two of whom were riding in the toppled truck, who administered first aid to those injured. It was the first time American missionaries lost their lives in the country since one was killed in July 2005 when a pickup truck lost its brakes on a mountain road, according to the newspaper.

“A passion for missions”

Tabernacle Church held a called prayer service on Tuesday evening upon first hearing of the deaths and conducted a special prayer service the following night.

“Both of these guys were the type to be involved,” Pastor Don Hattaway said of Mason and Goad. “They were the ones who get out there and do the work. They will be greatly missed by their church and their families. They had a passion for missions and epitomized going into the world to preach the gospel.”

Goad “was doing what he wanted to do,” Sharon Goad said of her husband and the father of their three children. “There was no way you could stop him,” according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Goad owned a heating and air conditioning business and was involved in the church’s television ministry.

Mason, a Sunday School teacher, ran a popular Cartersville restaurant, The Meating Place, before selling it in 2000. He worked as a substitute teacher for two years before starting a second career as executive director of the Etowah Foundation, a charity that encourages students to stay in school. The foundation has awarded more than $2.3 million in scholarships, according to the newspaper.

“He loved helping,” Mason’s daughter, Joannah Mason Sadler, 27, told reporters.

She accompanied her father on a 2004 mission trip to the nation and said Mason returned home a different man. “You can’t go somewhere like that and it not give you a [new] perspective and change you.”

Goad is survived by his wife, Sharon; two sons, Shay, 21, and Adam, 18; and a daughter, Kendra, 20. Mason is survived by his wife, Marsha; a son, Scott, 22; and daughter Joannah Sadler, of Atlanta, 26.

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