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- The Beckley Post-Herald, Beckley, WV, 8 April 1950
Rupert Youth Is Killed, 7 Others Injured In Head-On Collision Near Meadow Bridge
Gerald Curtis Small, 16, Is Dead; Five Others, Badly Hurt, Are Rushed To Hinton Hospital; 2 Cars Damaged
By EDITH RUPERT
RUPERT, April 7 - A Rupert youth was killed instantly late last night and seven other young persons injured, five seriously, in a traffic crash occurring near Meadow Bridge.
Gerald Curtis Small, 16-year old son and only child of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Small of Rupert, was the death victim and drive of the Rupert car which crashed, almost headon, Rainelle state police report, with the car of Rev. Bill Houchins of Beelick Knob, and driven by his son, Echols Houchins, 23.
Two other persons in the car driven by Small, Lila Lee Hilton, 17, Rainelle high school junior and cheerleader, and Richard Johnson, 15-year-old Rupert
school sophomore, are both in the Hinton Hospital with severe injuries.
Johnson, only son of Mr. and Mrs. B. Johnson, is reported to be suffering from back injuries and is possibly injured internally. The Hilton girl, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. L. Hinton, and the less seriously injured of the two, is suffering from severe facial cuts and abrasions and shock. Her
father is a Meadow River Lumber Company, employee.
Houchins, also a patient in the Hinton Hospital; is reported to be seriously injured, possibly internally. Passengers in the Houchins car who are hospitalized at Hinton are:
Dorothy Thompson, 20, daughter of Mrs. Icy Thompson of Beelick Knob, bad facial cuts and mouth injuries including the loss of several teeth.
Billie Joe Estep, about 19, and son of Mr. and Mrs. Clyde Estep, Beelick Knob, bad facial cuts and abrasions.
Other persons riding in the Houchins car who suffered only slight injuries and were not hospitalized were Herbert Adkins, 18, son of Mr. and Mrs. Velt Adkins, and Clema Pomeroy, 19, with knee injuries, and a son of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Pomeory. Both are also from Beelick Knob.
The investigating officers, Corp. C. A. Thompson and Trooper C. R. Dawson, report the crash as occurring about a mile south of Springdale and near the Nellie Marrs Lunch.
The car driven by Small, a 1938 Ford sedan owned by Glen Miller, a Price Motor Sales employee, Dawson, stated, was turned over on its right side and Small had been thrown from the car and pinned underneath. The other two youths, Johnson and the Hilton girl, were still in the car.
Judging from the impact, the officers stated, the cars were apparently being driven at a high rate of speed, and had collided almost headon. Both were almost demolished, and the officers reported that small pieces of both cars, including a rear-vision mirrow from one vehicle, were scattered for a distance of approximately 50 or 60 feet. The Houchins car was a 1947 two-door Chevrolet sedan. The seats were thrown from both cars.
The accident occurred between 10 and 11 o'clock, and relatives of the Beelick Knob group reported that they had been attending a motion picture show in Rainelle. It was not learned where the Rupert trio had been, but the group was enroute home at the time of the accident.
The Small boy had been using the Miller car during the day enroute between Rupert and Crawley where Miller resides, and had been doing some work at the Crawley property. Miller had gone to Charleston to attend a Ford
meeting and did hot know Small was using the car in the evening or that the accident had occurred until after his return.
Funeral rites for the Small boy have been set for Sunday at 2 p.m. at the Big Clear Creek Baptist Church at Rupert, of which church he was a member. The church pastor, Rev. Harry J. Simms, will officiate, and will be assisted by Rev. E. V. Core, who is also principal of Rupert school which Small attended.
Born at Hico, Fayette County, the Small boy was 16 years of age last September 12. His mother is the former Miss Neva Tincher, and besides his parents, he is survived by his maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs, H. E. Tincher of Victor.
The body is at Nickell Mortuary in East Rainelle and will be removed to the home of the parents at 11 a. m. Saturday. Interment will be in the End of the Trail Cemetery.
Classmates of the deceased will act as pallbearers and will carry flowers.
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1933 - 1950 (16 years)
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