'God-Loving' Pastor Killed While Riding His Harley Davidson
David Pollard, the "God-loving" pastor of Seth Ward Baptist Church in Plainview, Texas, died tragically Tuesday after he collided with a pickup truck while riding his 2007 Harley Davidson motorcycle. He was 54.
Plainview Police Capt. Manuel Balderas Jr. said in a My Plainview report that at about 4:12 p.m., Pollard was struck by a 2006 Ford pickup, driven by Margie Copeland in the 1400 block of North I-27 as he rode his motorcycle. Copeland was reportedly pulling out of a parking lot when the collision happened.
The pastor suffered severe injuries and was transported to Covenant Health Plainview hospital where his wife, Pamela, works as a diabetes educator. It is unclear if she was at work at the time her husband was transported to the hospital but he was pronounced dead by Hale County Justice of the Peace Sheron Collins.
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As local law enforcement officers continue to investigate the circumstances surrounding the accident, Seth Ward Baptist Church remembered him as a man who loved God and "preached the word."
"It is with a heavy heart that I tell you all that our Pastor, David Pollard, passed away yesterday. He was involved in an accident and died from his injuries. He was a God loving man and preached the word. He will be missed by so many. We are comforted by the promise that absent from the body, present with the Lord," his church said in a brief statement early Thursday.
The Caprock Plains Baptist Area which exists to support local churches in their mission to preach and teach the Bible, remembered Pollard as a "marvelous man."
"David was a marvelous man who brought his family to Plainview several years ago from Farwell, Texas, where he was at the ministry assistant at FBC Farwell. They became members of the Seth Ward Baptist Church. He was extremely active in the Children's Ministry at Seth Ward on Wednesday night, ministering to the children of the area. Three years ago he became the pastor of Seth Ward Baptist Church," the organization said in a statement Wednesday. "I know that you join me in prayers, not only for the family, but for the congregation of Seth Ward as they deal with this very trying event. As we pray for them today, we know that God's grace will be sufficient for them."
A GoFundMe campaign established to help Pollard's family in his absence has raised just over $2,000 of a $7,000 goal.
"He was an incredible husband, a loving father, a caring pastor at First Baptist Seth Ward, and an avid motorcyclist," said the campaign organizer Victoria Wright.
Pollard was supposed to give away his daughter, Tori, who recently graduated from Wayland Baptist University in marriage to her fiancé Juan-Diego Warner in July.
