Wednesday, December 17, 2025–8:30 a.m.
-Atrium Health Floyd News Release-
Christmas in Lindale, Ga., is a little extra special this year, and no one is more thankful than Tim Reynolds.
Reynolds, the unofficial mayor of the former mill town, has led the annual holiday decorating and events for three decades, but a tragic and horrific wreck in November 2024 nearly interrupted his king of Christmas presence last year.
The Model Middle School paraprofessional and part-time farmer was driving to work on Nov. 8 when another vehicle crossed the median and struck his car head-on, taking the life of the other driver and severely injuring Reynolds. Three men, Brian Minshew, Jeremiah Veillon, and Ben Woodall, all acquaintances of Reynolds, pulled him from the wreckage just minutes before his truck erupted into flames.
“It was like having angels there, all three of them. If not for them, I would have burned up in that vehicle,” Reynolds said.
Reynolds had already planned Christmas in Lindale 2024, but it was doubtful that he’d be able to preside over the festivities.
The wreck crushed his left foot, broke his left tibia and femur, injured both hips, ruptured his spleen, broke his sternum and all his ribs, fractured his lower back, and fractured his skull and his left eye socket. He was taken by ambulance to the Level II Trauma Center at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center. His heart stopped at the scene and again on the way to the hospital.
“When they got me to the hospital, it was pretty much all hands on deck from what my family told me,” Reynolds said. “They were good to the family, good to my wife, and they took care of me really quickly. From there, I had five surgeries. I have nothing but thanks for those folks. They have been so good to me throughout this whole process.”
It was more than two weeks later, Thanksgiving week, when Reynolds became aware that he was in the hospital. When he tells his story, he never fails to list the physicians and caregivers who helped him: Atrium Health Floyd orthopedic traumatologists Dr. John Beck and Dr. Jill Martin, Atrium Health Floyd primary care physician Dr. George Hotz, Atrium Health Floyd physical therapist Tonya Hillis, neurosurgeon Dr. John Cowan, and Harbin Clinic physical medicine specialist Dr. Richard Donadio.
“Dr. Donadio came in and prayed with me every morning,” Reynolds remembers. “I’m a deacon and a Christian, and I appreciate the fact that he did that.”
His physicians didn’t expect him to go home until March, but Reynolds had other plans.
“I told them I was going home for Christmas,” Reynolds said.
He was discharged Dec. 6. The next day, he watched the annual Lindale Christmas parade, although from a distinctly different vantage point.
“My family took me to Lindale in the car and pulled up on South First Street and let me watch the parade from the car,” Reynolds said. “I was able to see the parade in person, which tickled me to death.”
His community, he said, didn’t let him down. His brother, Jeff, made sure all the Christmas in Lindale plans were completed. His friends and neighbors raised more than $15,000 to help him with his medical costs, and many parade participants held signs honoring their never-elected mayor.
He returned to work on March 6, four months after the wreck, and he was able to drive his favorite tractor in May.
“Getting up on that tractor the first time was just a big ol’ blessing,” Reynolds said. “I got out there in that field and cried like a baby. That was a big deal to me.”
And this month, 13 months after his devastating wreck, Reynolds was back at the helm of his beloved Christmas in Lindale. The train platform is decorated. The Christmas Trolley Tour went off without a hitch, and Reynolds again drove Lindale’s iconic red fire truck in the town Christmas parade.
His return, he said, is nothing short of miraculous.
“I’m back enjoying what I enjoy doing,” he said. “Christmas is my favorite time of year. I did get to decorate last year, but I didn’t get to enjoy it. This year, I’m so excited to be able to hit the ground running again with everything that we’ve got going on, but I don’t know what I would have done without this community and the people who cared for me.”
“I’m just grateful,” Reynolds said. “I don’t deserve half of what I receive, but at the end of the day, I just have to say, ‘Thank you, Lord.’”
