From the Gunnison News-Champion, December 27, 1945, Front Page:
Four Dead Following Crash At East Elk Curve Monday
Father and Son Killed Almost Instantly; Mother and Younger Son Die Within A Few Hours
Four people of Akron, Colo.--father, mother and two sons--are dead as a result of an automobile accident Monday afternoon, Dec. 24, that took place at East Elk curve on U.S. Highway 50 about 17 miles west of Gunnison.
Killed almost instantly were A. E. Waldvogle, 77, and his son, Verne, 27, released in June from the navy; Mrs. Leona B. Waldvogle, 48, who died Christmas morning about 9:30 with head and chest injuries, and a younger son, Leonard Waldvogle, 12, who died about 10:30 Christmas Eve, of a crushed skull.
Mrs. Florine Waldvogle, 20, wife of Verne, is the only member of the family in the car who escaped serious injury. She was treated at the Community hospital, and released Christmas morning to join relatives who came from Montrose.
The Waldvogles were traveling from Akron to Montrose and Grand Junction to spend the holidays with relatives and friends. Verne and his wife had just come from Jacksonville, Fla., and had picked up his parents and younger brother at Akron.
E.L. Dutcher, Gunnison attorney, Mrs. Dutcher, and Miss Mary Lou Reid of Telluride, WSC student here, were enroute to Montrose and coming down the hill about 150 yards behind the ill-fated auto when they heard the crash, but trees prevented a view. In a moment Mr. Dutcher parked his car at the curve and ran to give assistance. Top of the car had been sheared almost entirely off, but lay crumpled partly of the rear seat. The driver had fallen partly out of the right side, driven back to the middle, and his mother was lying partly forward over the front seat. Mr. Dutcher ran back to the Mills ranch up the hill to phone for a doctor and ambulance, and then returned to help remove the bodies. He says Verne lived some few minutes before the heart stopped beating. The father was instantly killed, of course, the others so terribly hurt that it spoiled all thoughts of Christmas for their party. In his experience with auto wreck victims, Dr. M.F. Light declared it the most horrible accident he ever saw.
A number of other motorists gathered to assist and carry some of the victims to the hospital here.
Coroner Alex Cambell and Sheriff H.G. Lashbrook have reconstructed the accident along these general lines:
The Waldvogle car, driven by Verne was headed west. Apparently as the car dropped down the grade into East Elk creek about 3:50 p.m., the party noticed an overturned truck (loaded with furniture) on the inside of the big curve, and were looking at it.
Approaching from the west was a cream truck of the Sinton Dairy of Colorado Springs, driven by Thaine Alden Cross, accompanied by his brother, Pvt. Graydon O. Cross. Both boys are in the service, Thaine in the Navy and Graydon in the army. Both were home on furlough and were hauling cream from the Montrose area to Colorado Springs. The truck makes two trips a week to the western slope for cream.
Thaine Cross told the authorities he saw the Waldvogle car approaching, that he was well over on his side of the road, but apparently the driver of the Waldvogle car never saw the truck at all. It never swerved, and was clear over on the wrong side of the road. Investigation of tracks later proved this to be correct. The dual-wheeled truck was in the snow windrow, and the tracks of the Walvogle car were across the middle line of the road, showing that Waldvogle was going around the inside of the curve.
The bumper and left front wheel of the Waldvogle car struck the front wheel hub of the truck, completely cutting off the top. (The eight foot bed of the truck extends out beyond the cab.) Neither of the boys in the truck was injured in any way. The universal joint of the truck was torn apart, and without power or breaks, the truck rolled to a stop in 65 yards.
The Waldvogle car passed completely under the truck body.
The elder Waldvogle was killed instantly with head and body injuries, while Verne lived a few minuts, but died of head injuries.
Just where the various members of the family were sitting in the car has not been definitely determined. Motorists who arrived almost immediately after the crash, stated that the elder Mrs. Waldvogle was in the front seat with the driver.
Relatives of the odler Mrs. Waldvogle who came to Gunnison upon being notified by authorities include Mrs. Minnie Hinton of Grand Junction, her mother; a brother, Ernest Hinton of Montrose; Mrs. and Mrs. Walter Peterman, Mrs. and Mrs. Don Galloway, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Martin, and Mr. and Mrs. John L. Alles, all of Montrose. Another son, Robert came from Denver; and another son, Ernest, is in the navy in the Pacific area. There are other relatives in Idaho, Ohio, and a brother, John Hinton, lives in Delta.
Miller Mortuary took charge of the four victims; the father will be buried in the Akron Cemetery, while the mother and two sons will be buried in Montrose.
Four Dead Following Crash At East Elk Curve Monday
Father and Son Killed Almost Instantly; Mother and Younger Son Die Within A Few Hours
Four people of Akron, Colo.--father, mother and two sons--are dead as a result of an automobile accident Monday afternoon, Dec. 24, that took place at East Elk curve on U.S. Highway 50 about 17 miles west of Gunnison.
Killed almost instantly were A. E. Waldvogle, 77, and his son, Verne, 27, released in June from the navy; Mrs. Leona B. Waldvogle, 48, who died Christmas morning about 9:30 with head and chest injuries, and a younger son, Leonard Waldvogle, 12, who died about 10:30 Christmas Eve, of a crushed skull.
Mrs. Florine Waldvogle, 20, wife of Verne, is the only member of the family in the car who escaped serious injury. She was treated at the Community hospital, and released Christmas morning to join relatives who came from Montrose.
The Waldvogles were traveling from Akron to Montrose and Grand Junction to spend the holidays with relatives and friends. Verne and his wife had just come from Jacksonville, Fla., and had picked up his parents and younger brother at Akron.
E.L. Dutcher, Gunnison attorney, Mrs. Dutcher, and Miss Mary Lou Reid of Telluride, WSC student here, were enroute to Montrose and coming down the hill about 150 yards behind the ill-fated auto when they heard the crash, but trees prevented a view. In a moment Mr. Dutcher parked his car at the curve and ran to give assistance. Top of the car had been sheared almost entirely off, but lay crumpled partly of the rear seat. The driver had fallen partly out of the right side, driven back to the middle, and his mother was lying partly forward over the front seat. Mr. Dutcher ran back to the Mills ranch up the hill to phone for a doctor and ambulance, and then returned to help remove the bodies. He says Verne lived some few minutes before the heart stopped beating. The father was instantly killed, of course, the others so terribly hurt that it spoiled all thoughts of Christmas for their party. In his experience with auto wreck victims, Dr. M.F. Light declared it the most horrible accident he ever saw.
A number of other motorists gathered to assist and carry some of the victims to the hospital here.
Coroner Alex Cambell and Sheriff H.G. Lashbrook have reconstructed the accident along these general lines:
The Waldvogle car, driven by Verne was headed west. Apparently as the car dropped down the grade into East Elk creek about 3:50 p.m., the party noticed an overturned truck (loaded with furniture) on the inside of the big curve, and were looking at it.
Approaching from the west was a cream truck of the Sinton Dairy of Colorado Springs, driven by Thaine Alden Cross, accompanied by his brother, Pvt. Graydon O. Cross. Both boys are in the service, Thaine in the Navy and Graydon in the army. Both were home on furlough and were hauling cream from the Montrose area to Colorado Springs. The truck makes two trips a week to the western slope for cream.
Thaine Cross told the authorities he saw the Waldvogle car approaching, that he was well over on his side of the road, but apparently the driver of the Waldvogle car never saw the truck at all. It never swerved, and was clear over on the wrong side of the road. Investigation of tracks later proved this to be correct. The dual-wheeled truck was in the snow windrow, and the tracks of the Walvogle car were across the middle line of the road, showing that Waldvogle was going around the inside of the curve.
The bumper and left front wheel of the Waldvogle car struck the front wheel hub of the truck, completely cutting off the top. (The eight foot bed of the truck extends out beyond the cab.) Neither of the boys in the truck was injured in any way. The universal joint of the truck was torn apart, and without power or breaks, the truck rolled to a stop in 65 yards.
The Waldvogle car passed completely under the truck body.
The elder Waldvogle was killed instantly with head and body injuries, while Verne lived a few minuts, but died of head injuries.
Just where the various members of the family were sitting in the car has not been definitely determined. Motorists who arrived almost immediately after the crash, stated that the elder Mrs. Waldvogle was in the front seat with the driver.
Relatives of the odler Mrs. Waldvogle who came to Gunnison upon being notified by authorities include Mrs. Minnie Hinton of Grand Junction, her mother; a brother, Ernest Hinton of Montrose; Mrs. and Mrs. Walter Peterman, Mrs. and Mrs. Don Galloway, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Martin, and Mr. and Mrs. John L. Alles, all of Montrose. Another son, Robert came from Denver; and another son, Ernest, is in the navy in the Pacific area. There are other relatives in Idaho, Ohio, and a brother, John Hinton, lives in Delta.
Miller Mortuary took charge of the four victims; the father will be buried in the Akron Cemetery, while the mother and two sons will be buried in Montrose.
From the Gunnison News-Champion, December 27, 1945, Front Page:
Four Dead Following Crash At East Elk Curve Monday
Father and Son Killed Almost Instantly; Mother and Younger Son Die Within A Few Hours
Four people of Akron, Colo.--father, mother and two sons--are dead as a result of an automobile accident Monday afternoon, Dec. 24, that took place at East Elk curve on U.S. Highway 50 about 17 miles west of Gunnison.
Killed almost instantly were A. E. Waldvogle, 77, and his son, Verne, 27, released in June from the navy; Mrs. Leona B. Waldvogle, 48, who died Christmas morning about 9:30 with head and chest injuries, and a younger son, Leonard Waldvogle, 12, who died about 10:30 Christmas Eve, of a crushed skull.
Mrs. Florine Waldvogle, 20, wife of Verne, is the only member of the family in the car who escaped serious injury. She was treated at the Community hospital, and released Christmas morning to join relatives who came from Montrose.
The Waldvogles were traveling from Akron to Montrose and Grand Junction to spend the holidays with relatives and friends. Verne and his wife had just come from Jacksonville, Fla., and had picked up his parents and younger brother at Akron.
E.L. Dutcher, Gunnison attorney, Mrs. Dutcher, and Miss Mary Lou Reid of Telluride, WSC student here, were enroute to Montrose and coming down the hill about 150 yards behind the ill-fated auto when they heard the crash, but trees prevented a view. In a moment Mr. Dutcher parked his car at the curve and ran to give assistance. Top of the car had been sheared almost entirely off, but lay crumpled partly of the rear seat. The driver had fallen partly out of the right side, driven back to the middle, and his mother was lying partly forward over the front seat. Mr. Dutcher ran back to the Mills ranch up the hill to phone for a doctor and ambulance, and then returned to help remove the bodies. He says Verne lived some few minutes before the heart stopped beating. The father was instantly killed, of course, the others so terribly hurt that it spoiled all thoughts of Christmas for their party. In his experience with auto wreck victims, Dr. M.F. Light declared it the most horrible accident he ever saw.
A number of other motorists gathered to assist and carry some of the victims to the hospital here.
Coroner Alex Cambell and Sheriff H.G. Lashbrook have reconstructed the accident along these general lines:
The Waldvogle car, driven by Verne was headed west. Apparently as the car dropped down the grade into East Elk creek about 3:50 p.m., the party noticed an overturned truck (loaded with furniture) on the inside of the big curve, and were looking at it.
Approaching from the west was a cream truck of the Sinton Dairy of Colorado Springs, driven by Thaine Alden Cross, accompanied by his brother, Pvt. Graydon O. Cross. Both boys are in the service, Thaine in the Navy and Graydon in the army. Both were home on furlough and were hauling cream from the Montrose area to Colorado Springs. The truck makes two trips a week to the western slope for cream.
Thaine Cross told the authorities he saw the Waldvogle car approaching, that he was well over on his side of the road, but apparently the driver of the Waldvogle car never saw the truck at all. It never swerved, and was clear over on the wrong side of the road. Investigation of tracks later proved this to be correct. The dual-wheeled truck was in the snow windrow, and the tracks of the Walvogle car were across the middle line of the road, showing that Waldvogle was going around the inside of the curve.
The bumper and left front wheel of the Waldvogle car struck the front wheel hub of the truck, completely cutting off the top. (The eight foot bed of the truck extends out beyond the cab.) Neither of the boys in the truck was injured in any way. The universal joint of the truck was torn apart, and without power or breaks, the truck rolled to a stop in 65 yards.
The Waldvogle car passed completely under the truck body.
The elder Waldvogle was killed instantly with head and body injuries, while Verne lived a few minuts, but died of head injuries.
Just where the various members of the family were sitting in the car has not been definitely determined. Motorists who arrived almost immediately after the crash, stated that the elder Mrs. Waldvogle was in the front seat with the driver.
Relatives of the odler Mrs. Waldvogle who came to Gunnison upon being notified by authorities include Mrs. Minnie Hinton of Grand Junction, her mother; a brother, Ernest Hinton of Montrose; Mrs. and Mrs. Walter Peterman, Mrs. and Mrs. Don Galloway, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Martin, and Mr. and Mrs. John L. Alles, all of Montrose. Another son, Robert came from Denver; and another son, Ernest, is in the navy in the Pacific area. There are other relatives in Idaho, Ohio, and a brother, John Hinton, lives in Delta.
Miller Mortuary took charge of the four victims; the father will be buried in the Akron Cemetery, while the mother and two sons will be buried in Montrose.
Four Dead Following Crash At East Elk Curve Monday
Father and Son Killed Almost Instantly; Mother and Younger Son Die Within A Few Hours
Four people of Akron, Colo.--father, mother and two sons--are dead as a result of an automobile accident Monday afternoon, Dec. 24, that took place at East Elk curve on U.S. Highway 50 about 17 miles west of Gunnison.
Killed almost instantly were A. E. Waldvogle, 77, and his son, Verne, 27, released in June from the navy; Mrs. Leona B. Waldvogle, 48, who died Christmas morning about 9:30 with head and chest injuries, and a younger son, Leonard Waldvogle, 12, who died about 10:30 Christmas Eve, of a crushed skull.
Mrs. Florine Waldvogle, 20, wife of Verne, is the only member of the family in the car who escaped serious injury. She was treated at the Community hospital, and released Christmas morning to join relatives who came from Montrose.
The Waldvogles were traveling from Akron to Montrose and Grand Junction to spend the holidays with relatives and friends. Verne and his wife had just come from Jacksonville, Fla., and had picked up his parents and younger brother at Akron.
E.L. Dutcher, Gunnison attorney, Mrs. Dutcher, and Miss Mary Lou Reid of Telluride, WSC student here, were enroute to Montrose and coming down the hill about 150 yards behind the ill-fated auto when they heard the crash, but trees prevented a view. In a moment Mr. Dutcher parked his car at the curve and ran to give assistance. Top of the car had been sheared almost entirely off, but lay crumpled partly of the rear seat. The driver had fallen partly out of the right side, driven back to the middle, and his mother was lying partly forward over the front seat. Mr. Dutcher ran back to the Mills ranch up the hill to phone for a doctor and ambulance, and then returned to help remove the bodies. He says Verne lived some few minutes before the heart stopped beating. The father was instantly killed, of course, the others so terribly hurt that it spoiled all thoughts of Christmas for their party. In his experience with auto wreck victims, Dr. M.F. Light declared it the most horrible accident he ever saw.
A number of other motorists gathered to assist and carry some of the victims to the hospital here.
Coroner Alex Cambell and Sheriff H.G. Lashbrook have reconstructed the accident along these general lines:
The Waldvogle car, driven by Verne was headed west. Apparently as the car dropped down the grade into East Elk creek about 3:50 p.m., the party noticed an overturned truck (loaded with furniture) on the inside of the big curve, and were looking at it.
Approaching from the west was a cream truck of the Sinton Dairy of Colorado Springs, driven by Thaine Alden Cross, accompanied by his brother, Pvt. Graydon O. Cross. Both boys are in the service, Thaine in the Navy and Graydon in the army. Both were home on furlough and were hauling cream from the Montrose area to Colorado Springs. The truck makes two trips a week to the western slope for cream.
Thaine Cross told the authorities he saw the Waldvogle car approaching, that he was well over on his side of the road, but apparently the driver of the Waldvogle car never saw the truck at all. It never swerved, and was clear over on the wrong side of the road. Investigation of tracks later proved this to be correct. The dual-wheeled truck was in the snow windrow, and the tracks of the Walvogle car were across the middle line of the road, showing that Waldvogle was going around the inside of the curve.
The bumper and left front wheel of the Waldvogle car struck the front wheel hub of the truck, completely cutting off the top. (The eight foot bed of the truck extends out beyond the cab.) Neither of the boys in the truck was injured in any way. The universal joint of the truck was torn apart, and without power or breaks, the truck rolled to a stop in 65 yards.
The Waldvogle car passed completely under the truck body.
The elder Waldvogle was killed instantly with head and body injuries, while Verne lived a few minuts, but died of head injuries.
Just where the various members of the family were sitting in the car has not been definitely determined. Motorists who arrived almost immediately after the crash, stated that the elder Mrs. Waldvogle was in the front seat with the driver.
Relatives of the odler Mrs. Waldvogle who came to Gunnison upon being notified by authorities include Mrs. Minnie Hinton of Grand Junction, her mother; a brother, Ernest Hinton of Montrose; Mrs. and Mrs. Walter Peterman, Mrs. and Mrs. Don Galloway, and Mr. and Mrs. Paul Martin, and Mr. and Mrs. John L. Alles, all of Montrose. Another son, Robert came from Denver; and another son, Ernest, is in the navy in the Pacific area. There are other relatives in Idaho, Ohio, and a brother, John Hinton, lives in Delta.
Miller Mortuary took charge of the four victims; the father will be buried in the Akron Cemetery, while the mother and two sons will be buried in Montrose.
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