1952 — Jan 28, Tire blowout, Car hits bridge, goes into slough, US 54 ~Kingman, KS       —       7

— 7  Atchison Daily Globe, KS. “7 Perish in Car Mishap.” 1-29-1952, p. 1.

— 7  Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Kansas Wreck Fatal to 7.” 1-29-1952, p. 2.

— 7  National Safety Council. Accident Facts 1970 Edition. 1970, p. 63.^[1]

Narrative Information

Jan 29:  “Kingman, Kas., Jan. 29 – A car smashed into a bridge abutment and tumbled into a deep slough yesterday, carrying seven persons to their deaths. Only one occupant escaped, Betty Thomas, 13 [18?], crawled through a broken window and floated to the surface. She suffered bruises and shock.  Dead were Mrs. Ida May Thomas, Betty’s mother, and four of her children, and Mrs. Connie Mae Anderson and her year-old daughter, Carol Lynn. The Thomas children were Leland Eugene, 3; Lonnie Gene, six months; Carol, 8, and Linda, 12.

 

“Mrs. Thomas and Mrs. Anderson were sisters. Betty said a tire blew out just before the car hit a bridge on highway US 54 near Kingman. Both families lived in Wichita [about 30 miles to the East].” (Atchison Daily Globe, KS. “7 Perish in Car Mishap.” 1-29-1952, p. 1.)

 

Sources

 

Atchison Daily Globe, KS. “7 Perish in Car Mishap.” 1-29-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=4070743&sterm

 

Corpus Christi Times, TX. “Kansas Wreck Fatal to 7.” 1-29-1952, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=86011153&sterm

 

National Safety Council. “Greatest Number of Deaths in a Single Motor-Vehicle Accident.” Accident Facts 1970 Edition. Chicago, IL: NSC, 1970. p. 63.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[1] This was, in 1970, according to the NSC, the deadliest “passenger car-fixed object” event in U.S. history. The NSC has this event occurring in Kingman County, Arizona.