Isle of Wight-Southampton County Virginia USGenWeb Archives Obituaries.....Wells, James W., 1967 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/va/vafiles.htm ************************************************ Nation's Toll at 445 1 Man Dies, 4 Hurt in 2 Wrecks A 21-year-old Southampton man was killed and his two cousins injured near Ivor and two Hampton people were injured in Nansemond County in Labor Day holiday traffic wrecks Sunday. Killed 1 a.m. Sunday was James Wesley Wells of Rt. 1, Box 120, Ivor, when his car struck a bridge abutment on Rt. 616 at Seacock Swamp. According to State Trooper S.V. Everhart, Wells was thrown from the car - still clutching the steering wheel in his hands. His body was found under a concrete railing at the right edge of the bridge. A few yards away rested the steering wheel. Injured and carried to Louise Obici Memorial Hospital were his two cousins: Richard Edward Cook, 17, Rt. 2, Box 44, Ivor; and Johnny Lee Cook, 15, Rt. 1, Box 160. Richard suffered cuts on both legs, his right ear and chin; Johnny received an injury to the left side of his head. Both are reported in satisfactory condition. A farmer, Wells was a native of Isle of Wight County, and a son of Willie P. and Beaulah Chapman Wells. Besides his parents, surviving are a sister, Miss Betty Lou Wells of Richmond; and a brother, Willie Lee Wells of Portsmouth. The body was taken to Purviance Funeral Home, Wakefield. A funeral service will be held 2:30 p.m. Tuesday in Antioch Christian Church Cemetery, near Windsor, by the Rev. J.L. McTeer. About 4:50 p.m. Sunday a car overturned three times on Rt. 32, nine miles south of Suffolk, injuring Guy Forbes, 21, 4706 Hazelwood Dr., Hampton, and Miss Dianne Kay Edmondson, 20, 147 Linden Ave., Hampton. According to State Trooper W.R. Runner Jr., the small car was headed north when the left rear tire blew out, causing the driver to lose control. After turning over three times, the vehicle came to rest in a soybean field 15 ft. off the road. Suffering minor injuries, both were treated at Obici. Across the nation as a whole, the Labor Day Weekend death toll was lower than expected as the four-day holiday entered its final day today. National Safety Council officials, however, feared that homeward-bound traffic on the final day would cause the death tabulation to skyrocket. Some 420 persons were dead early today as the result of auto accidents. The National Safety Council had predicted that 560 to 600 persons would die in traffic accidents over the holiday. The record for long holiday traffic deaths was set last Fourth of July when 732 persons died. For comparison, The Associated Press found that 533 highway deaths occurred during a nonholiday four-day weekend period from 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 18, to midnight Monday, Aug. 21. The safety council advised motorists Sunday to begin their homeward journeys early to prevent the last-minute traffic jams and rushes that the council fears would cause the traffic death toll to rise. Sunday the death toll jumped from 327 persons at 6 p.m. to 372 at midnight. But the council hoped even with this increase the final figure would still be below par for a four-day weekend. As the weekend went into its fourth day, 15 persons were killed by drowning and 8 persons died in boating accidents since the holiday began. James Wesley WELLS, farmer, b. 18 Jun 1946, Isle of Wight Co., killed in wreck 3 Sep 1967, near Ivor, interred in Antioch Christian Church Cemetery*, near Windsor, 29 Mar 1967, "Suffolk (VA) News-Herald," Vol. 45, No. 212, Mon., Sep. 4, 1967, p. 1 *Additional information: Antioch list, an extension of the Southampton County Historical Society {SCHS} Cemetery Project: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/cemeteries/antioch.txt Isle of Wight County Historical Society {IWCHS} Grave Site Survey Task Force {GSSTF} report #20: http://www.iwchs.com/Cemetery-Reports.html A photo of his gravestone is posted with Find a Grave Memorial #104819921. His parents are also buried there. D.Cert. 67-026692 His father's obit ("Suffolk News-Herald," June 3, 1976, p. 2) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/obits/w420w2ob.txt His mother's obit ("Tidewater News," July 31, 1980, p. 7A) is posted at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/obits/w420b1ob.txt Contributed for use in the USGenWeb Archives by File Manager Matt Harris (zoobug64@aol.com). file at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/va/isleofwight/obits/w420j5ob.txt