The Chronicle-star combined with the Moss Point advertiser., 1948-01-30
Accidents
Take Toll
On Highway
One Dead. Muny
Hurt In Crashes
On Highway 80

A l5-year old girl was killed
and 10 persons were badly injured
in a headon crash of two auto
mobiles near Nine Mile Lake on
the Mobile highway Saturday
night for what officers described
as one of the worst accidents to
occur on a highway in this Sec
ton.
Dead was Betty Lou Harris of
Coden, Ala, who was hurled from
the automobile in which she was
riding with her two older sisters
and three friends.
Injured in the accident were
Calvin Eugene Smith, driver of
one of the automobiles, cuts about
the head and face and a fractur-
ed collar bone; Miss Florence Har-
ris, 18, cuts on the head and a
broken jaw; Miss Aleen Crav-
ley, Is, severe l~aceration of the
head, all of Myrtle Grove, Fla:
Alfred G.. Pursell, 81, Biloxi and
Myrtle Grove, fractured wrist,
and Wayne Steel, 10, U S. Navy
stationed in Pensacola, cut over
the right eye; passengers in
Smiths car; Virnal Dairs, go,
Route 2, Mobile, cuts about the
face and neck, fractured skull,
broken leg. Miss Katie Harris,
20, broken leg, Miss Amber Har-
ris, II, broken leg and fractured
skull, Miss Cashier Alexander,
10, cut head and broken leg, all
of Coden, Ala, and Harold Grit
fin, 10, Theodore, both legs brck-
en-, all passengers were in an auto
mobile driven by Davis.
The accident occurred about
$50 p. m. Saturday when the car
driven toward Mobile by Smith
crashed headon into the automo-
bile driven in the opposite direc-
ton by Davis, just west of the
bridge at Nine Mile Lake, ac-
cording to State Highway Patrol
man w. c. Gray, investigating
officer. In a statement to Officer
Gray, Griffin said that the car
driven by Smith had endeavored
to pass a third car and had hurt
led straight into the front of
Davis car. Patrolman Gray said
that Smith had apparently been
operating the car at a considerable
speed as the force of the COLI
sion carried the other car about
AZ feet back along the highway
and had turned the two interlocs-
ed cars completely around. Efforts
to disentangle the two ears were
unsuccessful, he said, and the
two vehicles were towed off the
highway where they were separ-
ated with great difficulty.
With the exception Of Smith and
Miss Florence Harris who were
wedged into the front seat when
the car was telescoped by the
crash and Pursell who was rid-
ing the the back seat Of the auto
mobile, the injured were flung
out of the automobiles b. the i'm
pact.
They were picked up by Fails
ambulance from Moss Point and
taken to the Jackson County hos
pital. Five of the injured were re-
moved to a Mobile hospital by
Fails ambulance Sunday. Still un-
der treatment at the Jackson
County hospital were Smith,
whose condition was said to DC
good, Miss Florence Harris whose
condition was said to be poor
and Davis who was said to be
doing fairly we'll"
No charges had been made in
asmuch as most of the injured
were unable to give statements
and investigation was still under
way, Officer Gray said.
Patrolman Gray, who was pa
trolling the highway Saturday mite
and Moss Point City Policeman
Harold Jones happened on the
wreck only minutes after it oc-
Cured. Assisting in directing the
traffic through the area were JON
es and County Highway Patrol
man A o. Davis.
The group of young people
from Florida had been in Biloxi
to see Pursell and were driving
him back to Myrtle Grove when
the crash occurred and the group
in the other car were pleasure
riding, the highway patrolman
said.
The Harris child was the daugh-
ter of Mr.. and Mrs. Robert E.
Harris. She was a native of Co
den.
Funeral services were conduct
ed Tuesday at 2:30 p. m. from
the residence of her sister, Mrs.
Earnestine Bosarge and from the
Methodist church at Coden b.
the Rev. Melvin Lundy. Inter-
CONTINUED on Page 81