1934 — Nov 16, Auto’s Collide and Burn, Hensheytown, ~Bellwood and Altoona, PA —    7

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 12-12-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–7  Altoona Mirror, PA.  “Seven Lose Lives in Crash of Cars.”  11-17-1934, p. 1.

Narrative Information

Nov 17, Altoona Mirror: “Seven persons met death in the collision of two automobiles at Hensheytown, just below the Bellwood intersection on the Altoona-Tyrone Highway, at 7:05 o’clock last evening.  One young woman alone survived the tragedy, the worst event of the kind ever recorded in Blair county.  Four of the seven victims were burned to death when they were trapped in their blazing automobile.  The girl who escaped from the blazing car was but slightly injured.

“The dead victims:

“Irvin Michael Musser, aged 69, of 306 South Allen street, State College, driver of one car.  Mr. Musser suffered severe burns about the head and body and was dead when lifted from the blazing machine.

“Mrs. Myra Musser, aged 63, of 308 South Allen street, State College, wife of Irvin M. Musser. Her body was burned beyond recognition and was identified only by small pieces of clothing found about the remains.

“Miss Judith Jackson, aged 22, of near Lancaster, Pa., senior student at Pennsylvania State college, whose body was charred, with the arms and legs being burned away, only the torso remaining.

“Miss Eleanor Webster, aged 20, of North Girard, near Erie, Pa., a sophomore student at Pennsylvania State college.  Her body also was burned beyond recognition.

“Hyman Graver, aged 26, of Loraine, O., a student at the University of Pittsburgh law school, who suffered a skull fracture and other injuries.  Graver was brought to the Mercy hospital in this city but was dead when carried into the institution.

“Emanuel Perkins, aged 22, of Allentown, Pa., also a student at the Pitt university law school, whose skull was fractured.  He also had numerous other injuries.

“James Saniel, aged 25, Pittsburgh attorney, who suffered a broken neck in the crash.

“The Mussers who operate the Musser club, a boarding house for co-eds at State College, were bound for Altoona and were accompanied by the Jackson and Webster girls, along with Miss Dorothy Rudy, aged 20, who is employed at the Musser place.

“Saniel and the two Pitt students were driving to Stale College to attend a Pennsylvania day house party at Phi Epsilon Pi fraternity, of which he and Emanuel Perkins, another victim, were members. The three also planned to witness the Penn State-Lafayette football game today.

“The Musser car was traveling west on route No. 220 with Mr. Musser driving.  The car bearing the three Pittsburgh youths was moving east on the road.  The collision, the exact cause of which remains undetermined today, occurred on the slight curve at Hensheytown, about 150 yards below the Bellwood intersection.

“The Musser automobile caught fire almost immediately after the impact. Four of its occupants apparently were knocked unconscious and were unable to free themselves before the flames reached them.  Miss Rudy struggled out but as she said last night, “I don’t know how I did it.”

“The two cars were pinned together in the crash with their fenders and wheels interlocking. Both

were turned completely around and when they came to a standstill were in opposite directions from which they had been traveling.  John Fox of near Tipton and William Woomer of Bellwood, who were walking along the highway and were the first to reach the two cars.  The fire had already swept up over the Musser machine.  Fox and Woomer dragged…the three youths in the Pittsburgh machine from the wreckage before it caught on fire.

“Fox and Woomer realized at once that Saniel and Perkins were dead.  They thought Graver showed some signs of life and his body was placed in a passing motor car and rushed to the Mercy hospital. However, Graver was dead when physicians examined his body at the institution.

“The fire swept through the Musser car with fierce intensity, this resulting from the fact that gasoline in the tank that was located in the cowl, just above the motor, was sprayed back over the car and soon became ignited….

“When questioned by Coroner Chester C. Rothrack, his deputy Guy S. Kling, and Private O. H. Werner of the state highway patrol, Miss Rudy said that the Musser car was traveling about 35 miles an hour and was on its right side of the road.  ‘I saw the speeding car coming toward us but an instant before the crash,’ declared Miss Rudy. ‘It was traveling fast and had but one headlight burning, while it also appeared to be on the wrong side of the highway.’….

“The Musser car was a four-door type sedan while the car occupied by the Pittsburgh youths, was a sport coupe of a heavier make….”  (Altoona Mirror, PA.  “Seven Lose Lives in Crash of Cars.”  11-17-1934, p. 1.)

Source

Altoona Mirror, PA. “Seven Lose Lives in Crash of Cars.”  11-17-1934, p. 1. Accessed at:  http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=73735262