BLAIR MAN AND 2 OTHERS DIE IN CRASH

WES SORENSEN, HARRY RUDE, CRUSHED AND BURNED IN TRUCK

THIRD MAN DIED SATURDAY

A truck accident and fire involving two T. & M. Transportation Company trucks cost the lives of three men, late last week.

Two of the men, Wesley Sorensen and Harry Rude, were well-known here.

Sorensen was the son of Nels Sorensen who operates the popular Smokehouse in Blair, and Rude lived in Blair until recently when his work with the firm made it advantageous for him to move to Denver.

The third man involved was Bob Douglas, of Denver.

According to information gathered by Peter Stricklett, who is the transportation firm’s dispatcher here, the truck driven by Douglas developed motor trouble on the route near Roscoe, Nebraska. Roscoe is a small town near Ogallala on U.S. 30. Douglas stopped his truck and got out to set his flares in compliance with the state law. A second T. & M. truck, being driven by Sorensen, was following Douglas and either failed to note that the first truck had stopped or was unable to stop and rammed into the rear of Douglas’s truck. Riding with Sorensen was Rude who was a relief driver on the run.

Immediately following the crash, fire broke out in the cab of the rear truck and before the men could be extricated from the wreckage the entire outfit was a blazing inferno. Both bodies were burned beyond recognition.

Douglas, who was the driver of the first truck, was in front of his truck setting flares when the crash took place and the impact was so great that his truck was shoved into him, knocking him down and running over him. He was taken to a hospital in Ogallala but died of his injuries the next day.

Witnesses of the accident expressed the belief that Sorensen and Rude met sudden death in the impact as their semi-trailer broke loose, ramming forward into their cab and pinning the men between the heavy load from the rear and the trailer in front. Each truck was loaded with more than ten tons of freight.

Sorensen’s body was brought to Blair and services were held for him Tuesday afternoon with Bendorf Funeral Home in charge.

Sorensen was born October 20, 1929, near Orum, the son of Mr. and Mrs. Nels Sorensen, who were farming in that vicinity. He was born and raised in this vicinity and until recently had worked as a truck driver for a number of local firms. On January 13, 1941, he was married to Miss Mary Mundorf and to this union twin infant daughters had been born. Survivors, besides his widow and infant daughters, are his parents, five brothers and one sister and a large number of other relatives. The brothers are Reynold, Myron, Edmund, Kenneth, and Lee, and his sister, Violet.

Rev. Harold C. Jorgensen had charge of the funeral services and interment was made in the Blair cemetery.

Blair business men, prompted by Auctioneer Cal Brundage, contributed to a fund this week for flowers for the services. However, Brundage found that so many of Wesley’s friends were anxious to participate that the sum soon became larger than needed for flowers. Collections exceeded $132 and after studying the situation it was decided to spend $25 for flowers and use the balance for the purchase of war bonds for the Sorensen infant daughters. Flowers were also bought for Rude, who was with Sorensen and whose services were held Monday at McCook, Nebraska.

Later, when the fund continued to grow, plans were made to buy additional bonds for the children which Mr. Brundage is arranging to have done.

Sorensen was well-liked by those who knew him and the generous contributions of the business men bear out this fact. The entire community joins with the bereaved family in their loss.

# 2 - - Two large pictures, dated February 4, 1943

“Above are pictures taken at the scene of the T. & M. truck crash near Ogallala two weeks ago which took the lives of three men, including Wes Sorensen of Blair. Damage to the trucks indicates the terrific force with which the vehicles met.”

#3 Printed in the Thursday, January 21, 1943 Pilot-Tribune, p. 1

TRIBUTE PAID TO SORENSEN

What began when a few friends donated to a fund to secure a floral tribute to the memory of Wesley Sorensen, 22-year-old Blair accident victim, swelled spontaneously into a community gesture Saturday when scores of Sorensen’s friends, learning of the flower fund, came forward with unsolicited contributions.

When the move finally halted, there was so much money in the flower fund that it was decided to invest the excess funs in war bonds for Sorensen’s two infant daughters—a token of the esteem in which the “downtown gang” held the Blair youth.

~~~Obituaries courtesy of the Nebraska Washington County Genealogical Society. Newspaper clippings on file in the Blair, Nebraska Public Library~~~

Find a Grave Memorial #119131169