Photo provided
Gilliam Field in Arundel
Press release
ARUNDEL —
"Youth died giving aid to motorist" was the headline of an article
written by Doug Bailey in the Nov. 7, 1979 edition of the Journal
Tribune. On a fall afternoon in 1979, 14-year-old Donald E. Gilliam III
and some of his friends were playing basketball in the back parking lot
of the Mildred L. Day School in Arundel when a car broke down on the
Maine Turnpike adjacent to the school property.
In the spirit of giving aid to someone in need,
Gilliam walked out to the turnpike to offer help to the stranded
motorist. During Gilliam's attempt to offer help, a passing motorist
fell asleep at the wheel and struck him.
The
resulting death of this young boy was felt throughout the community.
Shawn Labbe of Arundel, a childhood friend and teammate of Gilliam's,
said Gilliam had been raised to be involved in his community, to be
active in sports, and to help others. Labbe recalled many weekends spent
on the town-owned property behind the school with Gilliam, their
friends, and their fathers, as they worked to build the ball fields for
the children of the community to play on.
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