1948 — March 27, car turns in front of  truck, collide in heavy fog, near Kalamazoo, MI–  6

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard Sep 19, 2023 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–6  News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI. “US-12 Crash Kills Six…Heavy Fog…” 3-27-1948, 1.

–6  UP. “Collision Kills Six in Michigan.” Kenosha Evening News, WI, 3-27-1948, p. 1.

Narrative Information

March 27, News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI: “Kalamazoo, March 27 – Three men and three women were killed in a truck-automobile collision on a fog-shrouded highway near here early today….

“The car and truck collided shortly after 4 a.m. in the fog on US-12 four miles west of here. The truck and its driver, Ralph Eicholtz of route 2, Hastings, escaped practically unscratched.

“Police said first indications were that the driver of the auto became confused at the US-12 cutoff and turned directly into the path of the truck. It hit the auto square in the side.

“The truck was bound from Battle Creek to Gary, Ind.

“Deputy Sheriffs said the impact of the collision wedged the truck and the auto together so tightly two wreckers were required to pull them apart.

“Five of the victims were dead when taken from the wreckage and the sixth died while en-route to Bronson hospital in an ambulance…” (News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI. “US-12 Crash Kills Six…Three Couples Lose Lives in Smashup; Heavy Fog Blamed.” 3-27-1948, p. 1.)

March 27, UP: “ Kalamazoo, Mich. — (UP) — Six persons were killed today in a head-on auto-truck collision during a heavy fog five miles west of here. Five of the dead were identified as Winfred Douglas, 26, and his wife, of Battle Creek, Mich; Allen G. Williams, 26, and his wife, Maeydol Williams, 23, of Rockford, Ill., and Sherman Leo Douglass, 36, of Battle Creek. The sixth person was believed to be Miss Audrey Dunsworth of Battle Creek.

“Police said the car in which the six were riding was traveling east when the driver became confused at a cut-ff. The car turned into the path of a truck…[truck driver] was not injured.” (United Press. “Collision Kills Six in Michigan.” Kenosha Evening News, WI, 3-27-1948, p. 1.)

Sources

News-Palladium, Benton Harbor, MI. “US-12 Crash Kills Six…Three Couples Lose Lives in Smashup; Heavy Fog Blamed.” 3-27-1948, p. 1. Accessed 9-19-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/benton-harbor-news-palladium-mar-27-1948-p-1/

United Press. “Collision Kills Six in Michigan.” Kenosha Evening News, WI, 3-27-1948, p. 1. Accessed 7-2-2017 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kenosha-evening-news-mar-27-1948-p-1/?tag

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