| This obituary is taken from the collection in the Notebook of Long Obituaries. The original newspaper article can be found in the Blair Library, Genealogy Room.
Published in Pilot-Tribune, August 25, 1969
(picture & caption:) “The scene facing west of Highway 30 moments after the accident. The heavy rear trailer of the gravel truck was flipped onto its side from the impact.”
GENEVA MAN SUCCUMBS TO INJURIES FROM CAR-TRUCK COLLISION THURSDAY MORNING
A planned visit to friends in Blair ended nine miles short as 63-year-old Gale Walton of Geneva was fatally injured in a car-truck collision Thursday morning. The scene of the accident was the junction of Highways 30 and 31 west of Kennard.
Walton, a furrier manufacturer, in Geneva, was the passenger in a car driven by Helen L. Riel, 46, also of that city. The Riel auto was eastbound on Highway 30 when a gravel trailer truck driven by Joseph B. Corcilius, 62, of Omaha made a left turn from the westbound lane of Highway 30 onto Highway 31.
The Riel auto was unable to stop and slammed into the rear trailer of the double “truck ‘n pup” trailer driven by Corcilius.
The gravel truck, owned by the Lyman-Ritchie Sand and Gravel Company, was returning to Valley, Nebraska after delivering a load of crushed rock to the construction sight of the Fort Calhoun Power Station. According to Corcilius, the Riel auto was better than 300 yards from the intersection when he began his turn. The driver added, “I just don’t know how she got their so fast.”
The Blair Rescue Squad answered the call at approximately 8:30 a.m. to transport Walton and Mrs. Riel to the Blair Hospital. It was a number of minutes before Squad members were able to free Walton, whose leg had been caught in the wreckage. The Geneva man died Thursday evening of multiple injuries received in the accident.
Mrs. Riel is recovering from her injuries. She suffered a fractured arm and nose in addition to other minor injuries.
The accident is under investigation by law authorities.
(typed as printed in the newspaper. Some variations in spellings and facts occur.)
Find a Grave Memorial# 63536887
Obituary courtesy of the Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file at the Blair Public Library.
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