Ray County, Missouri Obituaries - Wesley Owen and Mrs. Ivan (Faye E.) Kraft d. August 10, 1953 Obituary: August 13, 1953 Two Killed in Car Accident Near Here. Wesley Owen, 29, Richmond, and Mrs. Faye Kraft, Henrietta, Meet Instant Death Charles Wesley Owen, 29, of Richmond and Mrs. Ivan (Faye E.) Kraft of Henrietta, 44, met instant death shortly after midnight Sunday as a result of an automobile accident two miles west of Hardin on Highway 10. Both victims were in a westbound 1940 Chevrolet, owned and driven by Mrs. Kraft, who apparently lost control of the car and traveled several feet on the shoulder of the highway before striking the east end of the south railing on the first bridge west of Crooked River. The car landed on the left side in a dry ditch about eight feet below. The entire south railing was broken off. The impact forced a piece of the railing through the radiator and dashboard, piercing Owen's chest. Mrs Kraft was thrown out of the car and Own was partially out of the vehicle. Both the victims were pinned beneath the automobile and could not be removed until a wrecker arrived. Bill Larson of Excelsior Springs who is with the Hemmington-Richardson Durham Consulting Engineers was the first passerby, and was unable to cross the bridge because of the railing that was strewn across the highway. Upson seeing a body he went to the Blue Bonnet Tavern and summoned the Carter ambulance, Sheriff E.W. Craven, and a wrecker. Dr. J.F. Baber, coroner, was also notified. A coroner's inquest was held at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday at the Carter Funeral Home when the following witnesses testified: Sheriff E.W. Craven, Deputy Sheriff Dan Keller, Bill Larson and William Sharp, proprietor of the Blue Bonnet, three-quarters of a mile east of the scene of the accident. It was determined that the "deaths were the result of an accident caused by the car colliding with a bridge railing, overturning, pinning them underneath." Sharp testified that the victims had left the tavern shortly after midnight. Larson said he happened along at about 12:12 or 12:15. On the coroner's jury were August Borcherding, M.P. Esrey, Virgil Shirky, Harold Eschenbach, William Ferguson, William A. Sharp. Dick Dale, jr., prosecuting attorney, did the questioning, assisted by Dr. Baber ------------------------------------------------------------------------ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by Jenna Zunker; USGENWEB NOTICE: In keeping with our policy of providing free genealogical information on the Internet, data may be freely used for personal research and by non-commercial entities, as long as this message remains on all copied material. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material for profit or any form of presentation, must obtain the written consent of the file submitter, or their legal representative, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. ------------------------------------------------------------------------