Obituaries: Woody Brazzell, 1967, Winn Parish, LA. Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: July 13, 1967 Winn Parish Enterprise-News American Local Student Killed In Road Crash Sunday Woody Brazzell, popular young athlete and honor student at Winnfield Senior High School, died Sunday night of injuries he suffered in an auto collision just before noon that day in an almost freakish accident on U. S. 84 East. He was the son of Mr. and Mrs. J. P. Brazzell. State Police reported young Brazzell was thrown from his 1963 sedan and suffered a head injury when he struck the concrete highway on the Port De Louce Bridge a mile east of the Winnfield City Limits. He had passed a car driven by a Mr. Rachal of Minden and had swerved his car back into the eastbound traffic lane where he lost control. His car then skidded sideways down the bridge and crashed into a Mustang carrying the Richard Humphreys family, a Columbia, Mississippi couple and their two small daughters. Humphreys saw the accident developing and had slowed almost to a stop, but on seeing the Brazzell car get back safely into its lane, Humphreys had started to resume his speed when the Brazzell car spun out of control. The highway patrol said evidently Brazzell lost control when he swerved sharply to his right and then back to his left as he tried to recover normal driving direction in front of Rachal. Brazzell was 17, a senior at halfback for the football team. He had a good year last season, running the ball 74 times and picking up 267 yards in the first five games and then he sat our the last six games with a back injury. His death will leave a gap hard to fill on a team already suffering from depth in the backfield. Humphreys and his wife suffered lacerations and fractures. Mrs. Humphreys' head crashed the windshield. The children were not seriously hurt. All were hospitalized here. It was not learned where the Humphreys were going, however, their care was westbound. It bore a Mississippi State University parking sticker. Brazzell was believed just out for a morning drive. Following the accident he was treated locally and then sent to Shreveport where he died in a hospital. His death was the first on U. S. 84 East in several years. Records are not kept locally which would readily reveal how long it has been since a fatal traffic accident occurred on U. S. 84 East, but deputies and highway patrolmen could not recall any in the last 10 years. FUNERAL Services were held at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Southern Funeral Home with the burial in the Garden of Memories Cemetery. Eugene Love conducted the services and was assisted by Roger Long, a student at the high school. Pallbearers were Charles Dawson, Jerry Hightower, Ricky Jordan, Ronald Howard, Gary Green, Wayne Wood, Gary Smith, and Larry Gibson, all members or former members of the Winnfield High football team. Honorary pallbearers were Thomas Straughn, Dr. L. R. Collier, and Dr. John Enright. Surviving in addition to Mr. and Mrs. Brazzell are three brothers, Donald and Ronald Brazzell, who graduated from high school last spring, and a younger brother, Larry.