Grandfather of Grayson Napier speaks about ‘Homeruns for Hudson’ event held Sept. 24

COLUMBUS, Ga. (WTVM) - A homerun derby to support, the Napier family and 4-year old Grayson Napier was held on Sept. 24 at Golden Park in Columbus.

On August 26th, Jimmy and Ami Napier were on their way to baseball practice with their sons Hudson and Grayson when their SUV rear-ended an 18-wheeler, killing Jimmy, Ami and Hudson and critically injuring 4 year-old Grayson.

The event named, “Homeruns for Hudson,” is to remember Hudson Napier who loved baseball, and to show love and support for the rest of the family as they are navigating their way through this tragedy.

The family is rallying around the surviving son to help care for him, and the homerun derby was one of the multiple fundraisers held to support the family.

“Really, it kind of allows little people to feel like they’re helping out that they’re participating and doing something, because these were little people who were hurt in the accident,” Grayson’s grandfather, Aaron Rollins, said. “Now that Hudson’s gone, some people that are his size, you know, they don’t know how to handle this sort of thing. This gives them the opportunity to feel like they’re doing something and maybe feel a little better together.”

Rollins also explained how support and love from the community has helped so much.

“Sometimes, it’s just nice to gather with people and not feel like you’re alone with the feelings that come with such a tremendous loss. So, it’s really nice to see so much community support and feel all this love,” he said.

Jimmy, Ami and Hudson have left an impact and have touched so many lives, and Rollins said they’ve heard stories from people they don’t even know about how their lives have been touched by their family.

“It’s amazing. We’ve even run into people with these shirts on that we didn’t know wandering in the street, and you get a chance to meet somebody and find out what their connection is or what their feelings are or listen to some of their thoughts that they want to share. It’s just incredible. I don’t have another word,” he said.

Participants came out with their bat and glove, tried to hit a homerun, get a dunk at the dunk tank and show love and support for the Napier family.

According to Chason Perry, one of the organizes of the event and owner of Impact Performance, over $1,000 was during the event.

Copyright 2023 WTVM. All rights reserved.