ENGELHARD - Murl GIBBS, a 54 year old Engelhard man,
became Hyde County's
first highway fatality for 1956 about 10:30 a.m. Saturday when the pickup
truck in which he was riding was hit head-on by an oil truck 1.7 miles
south of Middletown. The driver of the oil truck, 21 year old Ashley Duane
Williams of near Engelhard, will be charged with manslaughter, it was
announced on Monday by the investigation patrolman, W.E. Williams. The 1952
Chevrolet truck owned and driven by Burl Spencer of Engelhard, was
traveling south on the rural paved road when met by the north-bound oil
truck, a 1954 Chevrolet owned by Coastal Oil Company of Belhaven, Gulf
distributor for the area. Patrolman Williams said tracks indicated that the
oil truck ran partly off on the right-hand shoulder of the road for about
60 feet and then traveled 38 feet across the road to where the two trucks
hit. Other tracks indicated that Mr. Spencer applied this brakes and that
his truck skidded for nine feet before the collision. The right-hand front
of the oil truck hit the left-hand front of the pickup and the two vehicles
came to rest on the west shoulder of the road almost in a small roadside
ditch. Mr. Gibbs suffered head and facial injuries and died instantly. Both
drivers were hospitalized, Mr. Spencer suffering from shock, cuts on the
leg and under the eye, and a broken cheek bone, and Mr. Williams from shock
and bruises. The front end of both trucks were demolished and both were
estimated as total losses by the patrolman, except for the tank of oil
which escaped damage. The exact cause of the accident has not been
determined, as patrolman Williams says neither driver has been able so far
to shed much light on just what happened. Funeral services for Mr. Gibbs
will be held from his home near Engelhard on Monday afternoon, conducted by
the Rev. Angus M. Cameron, Rev. W.P. Armstrong and Rev. A.W. Huffman.
Burial was in Amity Methodist Church Cemetery. Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Maggie Lewis Gibbs; one son, Sullivan Gibbs of Greenville; 2 grandchildren;
two brothers: Robbie Gibbs of Fairfield and Early Gibbs of Columbia; two
sisters: Mrs. Stanley Armstrong and Mrs. Jessie Hudson, both of Fairfield.
Mr. Gibbs was the son of the late John O. and Cora Gibbs of Engelhard. He
was a life-long resident of the Engelhard area and a member of the Pleasant
Grove Christian Church near Engelhard. (The Coastland Times - Friday,
first highway fatality for 1956 about 10:30 a.m. Saturday when the pickup
truck in which he was riding was hit head-on by an oil truck 1.7 miles
south of Middletown. The driver of the oil truck, 21 year old Ashley Duane
Williams of near Engelhard, will be charged with manslaughter, it was
announced on Monday by the investigation patrolman, W.E. Williams. The 1952
Chevrolet truck owned and driven by Burl Spencer of Engelhard, was
traveling south on the rural paved road when met by the north-bound oil
truck, a 1954 Chevrolet owned by Coastal Oil Company of Belhaven, Gulf
distributor for the area. Patrolman Williams said tracks indicated that the
oil truck ran partly off on the right-hand shoulder of the road for about
60 feet and then traveled 38 feet across the road to where the two trucks
hit. Other tracks indicated that Mr. Spencer applied this brakes and that
his truck skidded for nine feet before the collision. The right-hand front
of the oil truck hit the left-hand front of the pickup and the two vehicles
came to rest on the west shoulder of the road almost in a small roadside
ditch. Mr. Gibbs suffered head and facial injuries and died instantly. Both
drivers were hospitalized, Mr. Spencer suffering from shock, cuts on the
leg and under the eye, and a broken cheek bone, and Mr. Williams from shock
and bruises. The front end of both trucks were demolished and both were
estimated as total losses by the patrolman, except for the tank of oil
which escaped damage. The exact cause of the accident has not been
determined, as patrolman Williams says neither driver has been able so far
to shed much light on just what happened. Funeral services for Mr. Gibbs
will be held from his home near Engelhard on Monday afternoon, conducted by
the Rev. Angus M. Cameron, Rev. W.P. Armstrong and Rev. A.W. Huffman.
Burial was in Amity Methodist Church Cemetery. Surviving are his wife, Mrs.
Maggie Lewis Gibbs; one son, Sullivan Gibbs of Greenville; 2 grandchildren;
two brothers: Robbie Gibbs of Fairfield and Early Gibbs of Columbia; two
sisters: Mrs. Stanley Armstrong and Mrs. Jessie Hudson, both of Fairfield.
Mr. Gibbs was the son of the late John O. and Cora Gibbs of Engelhard. He
was a life-long resident of the Engelhard area and a member of the Pleasant
Grove Christian Church near Engelhard. (The Coastland Times - Friday,
January 27, 1956; pg. 5)
