My name is Brian Pritchard, and I’m starting this fundraiser for my brother, Brent Pritchard.

This past week, Brent and his adult son, Gavin, were driving on Interstate 630 in Little Rock when Brent looked up in his rearview mirror and saw that the bed of his truck was on fire.

In a matter of moments, what started as a normal drive turned into something terrifying. Thankfully, Brent and Gavin were able to get out safely. But the truck burned to the ground, cab, bed, and everything inside.

For Brent, this was more than just a vehicle. It was something he had worked hard for over many years. Brent started with nothing and worked his way up little by little. He bought what he could afford, upgraded when he was able, and kept working until he finally had a truck he was truly proud of.

Brent does epoxy flooring for a living, and reliable transportation matters in his everyday life, he used this truck to get to jobs, haul tools, travel for work, help his family, and get his son to work with him. Losing it has created an immediate hardship that insurance alone will not fix.

Insurance and GAP should help with the loan side of things, but they do not give Brent a down payment for another vehicle. They do not replace everything that was inside the truck. And they do not solve the fact that he needs reliable transportation to keep working and providing for his family.

Brent is not someone with extra money sitting aside for something like this. He works hard, lives paycheck to paycheck like the rest of us in this economy. On top of that, his wife Brandy was recently laid off, and their family went a couple of months without a solid income that they badly needed. She has since found another job, but it is not at the income level they were used to depending on.

I included the photos because it is hard to explain how fast this went from a normal drive to a total loss. The video shows the truck bed fully engulfed, and the photos show what was left after firefighters got the fire out.

Brent is proud. He is a hard worker. He is a good dad, a reliable friend, and the kind of person who usually helps others before asking for help himself. That is why I am asking for him.

This fundraiser is not about buying Brent a brand-new truck or covering the full value of what was lost. It is about helping him put together just enough of a down payment to get back into reliable transportation so he can keep working, keep providing, and keep moving forward after a frightening and unexpected loss.

Any amount helps. Whether you can give $10, $25, $50, or simply share this fundraiser, it all matters. Every dollar raised will go toward helping Brent get back on the road, stable again and through this difficult setback.

Thank you for helping my brother and his family through a very difficult moment.