Smyrna times., 1963-12-12
Three Killed In Collision
On 800 Near MiddletOwn


collision on Route S96 north of
Middletown, while returning
from a night of roller skating
with a group of Clayton Girl
Scouts.
Six others were also injured
in the crash, which claimed
the lives of Frederick A. Del
Vecchio, A, his wife, Jennie
E., 3S, and their e-year-old
son, Joseph A.
A second son, Frederick B.
Del Vecchio, 7, remains In crit
ical condition In Wilmington
General Hospital with fractures
of the skull, both legs and the
right arm, according to state
police yesterday afternoon.
The dead couples daughter,
Katherine, IL, is reported in
fair condition at the same hos
pital with TWO broken shoul-
derS.
Del Vecchio was taking the
girls home from night of fun
at the Merryland Roller Rink
near Glasgow when his foreign
made compact bus collided
head-on with a car driven by
Mrs. Catherine Schwatka, 33,
of Bradbury Road, Coventry,
near New Castle.
The collision occurred about
ll:30 pm. Saturday on Rt. 89o
about three-quarters of mile
south of Mount Pleasant, and
state police said Mrs. Schwatka
was on the wrong side of the
road.
The other children, also of
the Kenton Clayton area, their
injuries and conditions:
Norma Thompson, l3, daugh-
ter of MIR. and Mrs. Charles
Brown, broken arm, fair.
Nancy Poore, IA, daughter of
MIR. and Mrs. Dorsey Poore,
compound fractures of both
legs, fair.
Roseanna Ryan, Is, daughter
of Mr.. and Mrs. Frank Ryan,
possible internal injuries and
multiple bruises, fair.
Janet Smith, II, daughter of
MIR. and Mrs. Bernard Smith,
broken leg. fair.
Mrs. Schwatka, was listed In
good condition yesterday with a
fractured nose.
The accident occurred short
ly after the group left the Glas-
gov Diner, where the Del Vec-
chios and other parents accom-
panying them had treated the
youngsters to hamburgers and
milk shakes to cap off the
night.
"They had looked forward to
1t for so long," said Mrs.
Myrtle Poore, Nancy's mother.
"It had been such a treat for
them"
Mrs. Poore, as assistant lea
der of Scout Troop 20ll, Clay
ton, to which all the girls be-
longed, was following the Del
Vecchio bus home in second
car.
There was another car be-
tween us and the Del Vec-
chios, so | didn't see the ac-
cident. This other car sudden
ly pulled out, as If to pass the
bus, and there 1t was," she
said, referring to the collision.
81 thought the cars were on
fire and ran to pull the chill
dren from the bus" she said.
The smoke she saw, she said,
turned out to be steam from
broken radiators.
''It was awful. The children
we're crying and screaming.
81 tried to flag down pas
sing cars, but no one would
stop. Finally, | had to stand In
the middle of the road to force
a car to STOP" Mrs. Poore
said,
A woman living nearby called
the Middletown Fire Co., first
of five to send ambulances and
rescue equipment to the scene.
Also responding we're Aetna
Hose Hook & Ladder, Minquas,
Goodwill and Wilmington Manor
Fire Co., New Castle County
also sent an ambulance from
Odessa.
81 must have passed out or
something" said Mrs. Schwat-
ka yesterday from her hospital
bed, who added she remembered
nothing of the impact. Zone
minute was driving, the next
l. was standing beside the cars. "
She was returning home from
a visit to a brother In Middle
town, Mrs. Schwatka said, when
the collision occurred.
"I've been having spells, like
| was going to faint, all week, "
she said. 81 get that way when
| get nervous.
Her ll-month-old son, Andy,
has been Ill with asthma, she
: said, and she's been extremely
worried about him.
q Requiem mass was said for
2 all three Del Vecchios Tuesday
!. morning at St. Joseph's Cath
olic Church, Clayton. conducted
by the Rev. Robert Sweeney
Interment was in St. Raymond's
(Continued on Page Eighty