Obituaries: Wiley Glen Page, 1959, 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: September 3, 1959 Winn Parish Enterprise News-American Funeral Held Wednesday Three-Car Collision Fatal To Glen Page Funeral services were held Wednesday at 11 a.m. for Wiley Glen Page, 29, victim of a three-car auto accident on Highway 84 Monday night. Page was a Lino-type operator at the Winn Parish Enterprise. The accident which took Page's life also injured his father, Wiley W. Page of Winnfield, and three occupants of a third vehicle, Kenneth Autrey, 20, of Rt. 2, Dodson, Felix Mercer, Jr., 35, of Winnfield, and Harry Garrard, 19, of Winnfield. The elder Mr. Page was treated and examined and released from Winnfield General Hospital Tuesday morning. Mercer and Garrard were released Wednesday. Autrey, driver of one of the vehicles involved, was not seriously hurt. He is being held in the Winn Parish jail on charges of negligent homicide in connection with Page's death. The accident occurred about 7:50 p.m. Monday, six miles west of Winnfield, just west of the entrance to the Carey Salt Company mine, on Highway 84. Glen Page, driving a 1955 Chevrolet auto, was pushing his father, in a Willis Jeep station wagon, which had had mechanical trouble on a trip to Winnfield from Saline Lake earlier that evening. The Autrey vehicle, a 1953 Mercury convertible, traveling east, rammed from the rear the auto Glen Page was driving, at a high rate of speed, officers said. The Chevrolet was knocked into the station wagon in which the elder Mr. Page was riding, and was completely demolished in both the front and rear. The station wagon was knocked through the air and overturned, but was not seriously damaged. The Autrey car was badly damaged in front. Coroner's Inquest At an inquest held this morning, Thursday,, Deputy Coroner Dr. James Lashley testified that Glen Page died shortly after arrival at the hospital, after emergency treatment and examination had begun. His injuries included a fractured right arm, broken ribs, and broken neck. Dr. Lashley stated that none of the other four victims had any broken bones. The elder Page had two lacerations on his forehead, and bruises. Mercer had two broken ribs, a bad cut on his forehead, and a small cut on his chin. Garrard had two cuts on his forehead, cuts on his nose, and chin, and multiple abrasions. Other witnesses at the inquest testified that Autrey, Mercer, and Garrard had been drinking earlier that evening and that they had been seen driving at a high rate of speed just prior to the accident. J. W. Rowe, 18, of Winnfield, and Johnny Williams, 24, of Dodson, testified that the convertible auto had passed them going west about 7 p.m. Monday. Rowe and Williams said that they had a flat tire on their car near the First Chance Saloon and that when they stopped and went in, Autrey, Mercer, and Garrard were inside drinking a can of beer. Rowe and Williams asked their assistance in getting to Clarence to have a tire fixed and they were taken to Clarence where they said they all drank another beer while the tire was being fixed. They all returned from Clarence in the Autrey car, and Rowe and Williams gout out to put the repaired tire on. Autrey, Mercer, and Garrard left then headed toward Winnfield. Rowe testified that he told Williams after the Autrey car departed that he was "glad to get out of that car, they won't get where they are going." Rowe and Williams were among those arriving at the scend of the accident shortly after it occurred, and brought the three occupants of the Autrey car to Winnfield to the hospital. Others who testified were Bill Edmonds, Charles H. Kelley, Bonner Haynes, State Trooer Marlin Connor, and W. E. Price. Kelley, who assisted in directing traffic at the scene, said the Autrey car had passed him headed east near Gum Springs at a high rate of speed. Connor testified that the Autrey car was traveling between 85 and 90 miles per hour when it struk the Glen Page car from physical evidence at the scene. Connor said that Autrey has been charged with driving while under the influence of intoxicants, reckless driving, negligent injury, and negligent homicide in connection with the accident. Funeral Services Last rites were held at Southern Funeral Home in Winnfield with Rev. Waynon Mott of Gonzales, formerly of Winnfield, and Rev. C. C. Martin, pastor of Laurel Heights Baptist Church, and Dr. W. L. Holcomb, pastor of First Baptist Church, officiating. Burial was in Garden of Memories Cemetery. Page was a native of Winnfield and began his career in the printing trade at the Winn Parish Enterprise at the age of 16. He had since been employed at newspapers in Natchitoches, Alexandria, and Bowie, Texas, before returning to Winnfield. He was an active member of the Laurel Heights Baptist Church. Survivors are his wife, Mrs. Betty Jean Page, three sons, Wiley Glen Page, Jr., Arthur L. Page, and William W. Page, all of Wren Acres in Winnfield; his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wiley W. Page of 317 North St. John Street in Winnfield; one brother, Hershel Page of Baton Rouge; two sisters, Mrs. Norman Chandler and Mrs. Andrew Boone, both of Baton Rouge; his grandparents, Marion Melton of Winnfield; and Mrs. Melissa Page, also of Winnfield. Pallbearers were D. G. Boyett, Chester Derr, Stanley Henderson, Glen Fogger, Tom Kelly, and George H. Larson.