Chas. Hansen Dies

Blair Man Killed

(photo) View of Wrecked Car

As this photo was taken, rescuers were removing the body of Charles Edward Hansen of Blair from his wrecked car in the bottom of a creek north of Blair after his fatal crash—Pilot-Tribune Photos

Charle Edward Hansen, 29, Father of Two, Dies as Car Hits Bridge Lutheran Funeral Rites to be Today

Tragedy on the highway early Monday snuffed out the life of a well-known young Blair man.

Charles Edward Hansen, 29, of 301 East Lincoln Street apparently was instantly killed around 6am Monday when the car he was driving hit a bridge on Highway 73 just north of Blair, near the Stanley Jensen farm home.

Hansen’s car, northbound apparently at terrific speed, struck the guard railings on the west side of the bridge near the Jensen place. The car hurtled on, snapping off a power pole guy wire. Then the auto flew some 75 feet or more straight across the wide ravine the bridge spans. It struck the top of the opposite embankment, then plunged down some 50 feet into the creek bed below.

Wreck at 6 a.m.?

The mishap may have occurred at about 6am. Mr. Jensen, whose home is but a short distance away, reports he heard a noise similar to screeching tires at about that time and that he investigated briefly and could see nothing.

Some time later Bill Wilson of Blair, also northbound, noticed signs of a car having gone off the road. He investigated and discovered the wreckage in the creek bottom.

So steep was the creek embankment that the rescue workers had to obtain a long ladder to descend. The body was placed on a stretcher and then was hoisted up to the bridge by a winch on a wrecker truck. The automobile was removed several hours later. It was a total wreck.

Wife, Two Children

Mr. Hansen, born in Blair June 6, 1927, is survived by his wife, the former Faye Garrels, to whom he was married at Diller, Nebraska September 24, 1950, and by a daughter, Jan Rae Hansen, 4, and by a son, Erick Scott Hansen, 2.

Also surviving are his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ed Hansen of 304 East Colfax Street, and by his grandmother, Mrs. Charles Hansen, a resident of Lutheran Good Shepherd Home here.

Mr. Hansen, an engineer by profession, was a graduate of Blair High School. He later attended Dana College here and then was graduated from the University of Nebraska College of Engineering. A service veteran of the post-World War II era, he was a member of the American Legion.

Mr. Hansen once worked for the Kelly Ryan Equipment Company, but more recently was employed by the Gale City Steel Works in Omaha.

The Campbell Mortuary announces that the funeral will take place today (Thursday) at 2pm at First Lutheran Church. Officiating will be the Rev. H.C. Jorgensen, pastor who has just returned from a plane trip to Denmark. Interment will be in Blair Cemetery.

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

FindaGrave # 115010812