The Union County Journal

KILLED IN WRECK SATURDAY

This is the wrecked Chevrolet sedan in which Mrs. Leona Yeager, 45, Columbus, and her daughter, Rosemarie, 19, met death about 4:30 p.m. Saturday in the Blues Creek bridge on the Marion rd., 4½ miles north of Marysville. Dane M. Yeager, 45, was critically injured in the collision between his car and Clarence M. Backus, 25, of Marion.

Mother and Her Daughter Victims In Terrific Crash

Two Cars Collide In Marion Rd. Bridge Saturday Afternoon

Two persons are dead and two others injured as the result of an automobile collision near Marysville, Saturday afternoon. The dead:

Mrs. Leona Yeager, 45, 216 S. Eureka ave., Columbus, who suffered a fractured right hip, fractured ribs, shock and other injuries and died in Jane Case Hospital at 3:30 a. m. Sunday.

Her daughter, Miss Rosemarie Yeager, 19, killed instantly in the collision, the fatal injury being a fractured skull.

Injured are:

Dane M. Yeager, 45, who is in critical condition in Jane Case hospital suffering from a fractured right hip, fractured skull and shock.

Clarence M. Backus, 25, of E. Center st., Marion, who suffered severe cuts about the face and was also taken to Jane Case Hospital.

The collision occurred in the bridge over Blues Creek on the Marion rd., 4½ miles north of Marysville, at 4:30 p. m. Saturday. All but Mrs. Yeager were hurled from the car by the impact.

Sheriff Walter T. Galloway said the collision occurred, apparently, when Backus struck the Yeager car from the rear just as Mr. Yeager was entering the narrow cement bridge. Both cars were headed toward Marysville.

Hit Bridge Walls

The impact of the crash hurled both cars into the cement bridge walls, spun the Yeager car around so that it was headed back north, and ripped out the entire right side of their Chevrolet. Backus' car, a late-model Dodge sedan, continued on through the bridge and ended up against the west guard rail, about 25 yards on beyond the bridge.
First person at the scene of the accident was Beecher McKitrick, 215 S. Oak st., Marysville, who came along almost immediately after it happened. He observed Miss Yeager lying dead on the bridge floor and the others critically hurt, and rushed to the home of Delmar Smith, about 150 yards south of the bridge, to call the Sheriff's office.
The injured persons were taken to Jane Case hospital in the Faulkner and Lee ambulances, and Miss Yeager's body was taken to the Faulkner Funeral Home.
Mrs. Yeager's body was also removed to the Faulkner mortuary after her death.
Worst in 15 Months
The accident is the worst which has occurred in this vicinity in more than a year. Fifteen months ago three persons were killed in a head-on collision on the Columbus rd., about 11½ miles east of town.
Mr. Yeager is a foreman at the Felber Biscuit Co. in Columbus, a position he has held for the past six years. Prior to that, he was a truck driver for the Felber Co. and compiled a 20-year safety record of never having had an accident.
Miss Yeager, who was graduated from Columbus West High School last February, had been employed since then as a stenographer in the Columbus offices of the General Electric Co. She was an only child.
Many Relatives Here
The Yeager family was apparently returning to Columbus after having visited Mr. Yeager's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Perry Yeager, in Magnetic Springs.
Other relatives in this area include: Mrs. Yeager's mother, Mrs. Rose Hilbert, Plain City; a sister and two brothers of Mrs. Yeager, Mrs. Euna Adams and Arnie Hilbert, both of Plain City; and Louis Hilbert, Groveport; and three brothers of Mr. Yeager, James and Cleon Yeager, both of Magnetic Springs; and Perry Yeager Jr., Bellefontaine.