Judge Erbon Sawyer is the father of Network news anchor Diane Sawyer
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County Judge Sawyer Killed in I-64 Crash
May Have Slept at Wheel, Deputy Coroner Says
Jefferson County Judge E. P. Sawyer, fatally injured in an automobile accident here yesterday morning, may have dozed at the wheel, according to Deputy Coroner Barry Foreman.
Foreman said preliminary results of an autopsy showed no signs of a heart attack or a stroke. He said death was caused by severe head and internal injuries.
Sawyer, 53-year-old Republican nominee to succeed himself in the Nov. 4 election, also suffered fractures of both legs and several ribs and injuries to his heart and liver, according to Foreman. Further tests will be made before a final autopsy report is issued, he added.
Another theory put forth yesterday was that the county judge might have been leaning across the seat to pick something off the floor. This speculation, by Maj. Russell McDaniel, assistant chief of county police, was based on the facts that the victim's injuries were mainly on his left side.
McDaniel said that Mrs. Sawyer told police that the judge had eaten a hearty breakfast and was in good spirits when he left his house some six or seven minutes before the accident.
The one-car accident occurred about 7 a.m. on Interstate 64 half a mile east of the Watterson Expressway, not far from Sawyer's home at 29 Sterling Road.
County police said the judge was driving alone in his car when it left the pavement and crashed head-on into a concrete bridge abutment.
County Patrolman James Bramble said Sawyer was alive when taken from the car but was pronounced dead on arrival at General Hospital at 7:45 a.m.
Sawyer--a tall, big-shouldered man--was in the midst of a campaign for election to a full four-year term as county judge. He was named to the post by Gov. Nunn in December 1968 to succeed fellow Republican Marlow W. Cook, who won election to the U.S. Senate.
Leaders of the opposition Democratic ticket announced an immediate suspension of their campaign activities after the accident.
Gov. Louie B. Nunn said yesterday he ( see Jefferson, Back page, col. 1) "will absolutely not discuss under any circumstances" naming a successor to Sawyer until after the funeral at 2 p.m. tomorrow at St. Mark Methodist Church, 4605 Lowe Road.
The Republican city-county executive committee will name a replacement for Sawyer on the ballot. The election is just six weeks away. S. Tilford Payne Jr., chairman of the GOP committee, said that group will take no action until Nunn names someone to fill out Sawyer's term, which expires Jan. 5, 1970.
Bramble, who was the first officer on the accident scene, said he found Sawyer trapped in the car by his right foot. Bramble said the car's engine had been pushed into the car.
The officer said the road was extremely slick from a heavy mist and that there apparently were no witnesses to the accident.
Sawyer was the second Jefferson County judge to be killed in an auto accident in recent years. A 1954 traffic mishap took the life of County Judge George S. Wetherby.
And another Republican nominee for judge, J. Earl Dearing, died Aug. 22. He was replaced by George H. Kunzman as the nominee for judge of the Fourth Common Pleas Division of Jefferson Circuit Court
Went Off Right Side
Sawyer left his home about 6:45 a.m. Police theorized that he drove east on Taylorsville Road to Hurstbourne Lane and then entered I-64.
Sawyer's car, a county-owned, dark blue 1966 Continental, was heading west toward Louisville when it went off the right side of the highway and struck an overpass support on a stretch of road adjacent to the Oxmoor Farm.
Police said that no skid marks were in evidence.
The first police officers to reach the scene, finding that Sawyer was trapped in the wreckage, called for assistance from the McMahan Volunteer Fire Dept.
By the time firemen reached the scene, however, police had succeeded in freeing Sawyer and were preparing to take him to General Hospital.
Al Barth, chief of the McMahan volunteer firemen, said the engine of the automobile had been shoved backward about 2 1/2 feet.
County Police Chief Thomas R. Holsclaw said his department's investigation of the accident showed no evidence of another car being involved.
The accident was reported to county police at 7:06 a.m. after a motorist who had driven by the accident scene had notified city police.
The transportation superintendent of the county garage, Welles Meyer, said he examined the wrecked automobile and could find no signs of a tire blowout or any mechanical failure. He said the car was checked daily and had passed an inspection, including brakes, on Monday.
Wife, Daughter Taken to Hospital
Sawyer's wife and daughter, Diane, were taken by county police to the hospital. They left the hospital about 8:45 a.m., escorted by John P. Sawyer, the Republican mayoral candidate, and his wife. The two Sawyers were not related.
Judge Sawyer's opponent in the fall election, Todd Hollenbach, announced that he was cancelling all public appearances until further notice.
"The people of Jefferson County have suffered a great loss, but that loss is as nothing compared to that suffered by his family and loved ones," Hollenbach said. "All of us, political beliefs aside, mourn this tragedy."
Frank W. Burke, the Democratic mayoral candidate, also announced a suspension of his campaigning.
Privately, Sawyer was a man who listened to country music, or strummed a guitar and made up parody lyrics for parties and other gatherings. He grew tomatoes, turnips, apples and pears in his backyard, and operated a 150-year-old cider press every fall.
And he invented things. "There's nothing he can't fix," daughter Diane once said. "If something seems impossible, we turn it over to Dad. He's kind of a general systems engineer."
The Sawyer home at 29 Sterling Road is in Sheffield Manor Subdivision, which was developed by Sawyer and about 50 other veterans after their return from World War II.
The church he attended, St. Mark Methodist, was founded by a small group that included Sawyer. He taught Sunday school there when he had the time.
Sawyer was a member of the Scottish Rite and the Kosair Temple. He was also a member of the Downtown Kiwanis and Hi-12 Clubs.
When he could get away from the hurly burly of politics, Sawyer said he like most to find a quiet place. He used to go to a family camp at Cumberland Lake "to hear the whippoorwills." That was one of the most soothing sounds he knew, he said.
Sawyer grew up as one of nine children at a Metcalfe County farm. His father, J. G. Sawyer, died in 1965 in Glasgow.
Took Bar Exam in 1943
E.P. Sawyer was at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia when he met his bride-to-be, the former Jean Dunagan of Wayne County.
Sawyer came to Louisville after taking teacher training at what is now Western Kentucky University and teaching in high school at Summer Shade, Ky., for one year.
He studied at the University of Louisville and the Jefferson School of Law while working at the Naval Ordance Station.
After two years, in 1943, he took the bar examination. Then he enlisted in the Navy. Latter he learned that he ranked second in the statewide test.
Sawyer was commanding officer of a submarine chaser in the South Pacific.
He returned in 1946 to set up a law practice. He was assistant to Commonwealth Atty. Frank A. Ropke from 1947 to 1951 and was county attorney from 1951 until named judge last December.
He was a member of the Louisville, Kentucky and American Bar associations and the American Judicature Society. He also was a retire Naval Reservist.
In addition to his widow, and his daughter, Diane, a WLKY-TV reporter, Sawyer is survived by another daughter, Mrs. David F. Frankel, New York City; two brothers, H.G. Sawyer, Anawalt, W. Va., and Herman Sawyer, New York City; and six sisters, Miss Neva Sawyer, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Mrs. C. R. Walden, Edmonton, Ky.; Mrs. William C. Mann, Burkesville, Ky.; Mrs. Fred Smith, Glasgow, Ky.; MRs. Paul Brown, Cincinnati, and Mrs. Lila Simington.
The funeral tomorrow at St. Mark Methodist Church will be followed with burial in Resthaven Memorial Park. The body will be at Pearson's, 149 Breckinridge Lane, after 10 a.m. today.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to St. Mark Methodist Church.
The Courier-Journal
Louisville, Ky
Wednesday, September 24, 1969, pp. 1 & 20
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.... ... ... .... .... Mrs. Sawyer met her husband when they were taking a summer term at Lindsey Wilson College. They both were students at Western Kentucky University where she was graduated with a degree in education. The former Jean Dunagan of Wayne County married Judge Sawyer in 1939. .... .... ....
The Courier-Journal
Louisville, Ky
Wednesday, May 28, 1969, p. A-22
.
Judge Erbon Sawyer is the father of Network news anchor Diane Sawyer
._______
County Judge Sawyer Killed in I-64 Crash
May Have Slept at Wheel, Deputy Coroner Says
Jefferson County Judge E. P. Sawyer, fatally injured in an automobile accident here yesterday morning, may have dozed at the wheel, according to Deputy Coroner Barry Foreman.
Foreman said preliminary results of an autopsy showed no signs of a heart attack or a stroke. He said death was caused by severe head and internal injuries.
Sawyer, 53-year-old Republican nominee to succeed himself in the Nov. 4 election, also suffered fractures of both legs and several ribs and injuries to his heart and liver, according to Foreman. Further tests will be made before a final autopsy report is issued, he added.
Another theory put forth yesterday was that the county judge might have been leaning across the seat to pick something off the floor. This speculation, by Maj. Russell McDaniel, assistant chief of county police, was based on the facts that the victim's injuries were mainly on his left side.
McDaniel said that Mrs. Sawyer told police that the judge had eaten a hearty breakfast and was in good spirits when he left his house some six or seven minutes before the accident.
The one-car accident occurred about 7 a.m. on Interstate 64 half a mile east of the Watterson Expressway, not far from Sawyer's home at 29 Sterling Road.
County police said the judge was driving alone in his car when it left the pavement and crashed head-on into a concrete bridge abutment.
County Patrolman James Bramble said Sawyer was alive when taken from the car but was pronounced dead on arrival at General Hospital at 7:45 a.m.
Sawyer--a tall, big-shouldered man--was in the midst of a campaign for election to a full four-year term as county judge. He was named to the post by Gov. Nunn in December 1968 to succeed fellow Republican Marlow W. Cook, who won election to the U.S. Senate.
Leaders of the opposition Democratic ticket announced an immediate suspension of their campaign activities after the accident.
Gov. Louie B. Nunn said yesterday he ( see Jefferson, Back page, col. 1) "will absolutely not discuss under any circumstances" naming a successor to Sawyer until after the funeral at 2 p.m. tomorrow at St. Mark Methodist Church, 4605 Lowe Road.
The Republican city-county executive committee will name a replacement for Sawyer on the ballot. The election is just six weeks away. S. Tilford Payne Jr., chairman of the GOP committee, said that group will take no action until Nunn names someone to fill out Sawyer's term, which expires Jan. 5, 1970.
Bramble, who was the first officer on the accident scene, said he found Sawyer trapped in the car by his right foot. Bramble said the car's engine had been pushed into the car.
The officer said the road was extremely slick from a heavy mist and that there apparently were no witnesses to the accident.
Sawyer was the second Jefferson County judge to be killed in an auto accident in recent years. A 1954 traffic mishap took the life of County Judge George S. Wetherby.
And another Republican nominee for judge, J. Earl Dearing, died Aug. 22. He was replaced by George H. Kunzman as the nominee for judge of the Fourth Common Pleas Division of Jefferson Circuit Court
Went Off Right Side
Sawyer left his home about 6:45 a.m. Police theorized that he drove east on Taylorsville Road to Hurstbourne Lane and then entered I-64.
Sawyer's car, a county-owned, dark blue 1966 Continental, was heading west toward Louisville when it went off the right side of the highway and struck an overpass support on a stretch of road adjacent to the Oxmoor Farm.
Police said that no skid marks were in evidence.
The first police officers to reach the scene, finding that Sawyer was trapped in the wreckage, called for assistance from the McMahan Volunteer Fire Dept.
By the time firemen reached the scene, however, police had succeeded in freeing Sawyer and were preparing to take him to General Hospital.
Al Barth, chief of the McMahan volunteer firemen, said the engine of the automobile had been shoved backward about 2 1/2 feet.
County Police Chief Thomas R. Holsclaw said his department's investigation of the accident showed no evidence of another car being involved.
The accident was reported to county police at 7:06 a.m. after a motorist who had driven by the accident scene had notified city police.
The transportation superintendent of the county garage, Welles Meyer, said he examined the wrecked automobile and could find no signs of a tire blowout or any mechanical failure. He said the car was checked daily and had passed an inspection, including brakes, on Monday.
Wife, Daughter Taken to Hospital
Sawyer's wife and daughter, Diane, were taken by county police to the hospital. They left the hospital about 8:45 a.m., escorted by John P. Sawyer, the Republican mayoral candidate, and his wife. The two Sawyers were not related.
Judge Sawyer's opponent in the fall election, Todd Hollenbach, announced that he was cancelling all public appearances until further notice.
"The people of Jefferson County have suffered a great loss, but that loss is as nothing compared to that suffered by his family and loved ones," Hollenbach said. "All of us, political beliefs aside, mourn this tragedy."
Frank W. Burke, the Democratic mayoral candidate, also announced a suspension of his campaigning.
Privately, Sawyer was a man who listened to country music, or strummed a guitar and made up parody lyrics for parties and other gatherings. He grew tomatoes, turnips, apples and pears in his backyard, and operated a 150-year-old cider press every fall.
And he invented things. "There's nothing he can't fix," daughter Diane once said. "If something seems impossible, we turn it over to Dad. He's kind of a general systems engineer."
The Sawyer home at 29 Sterling Road is in Sheffield Manor Subdivision, which was developed by Sawyer and about 50 other veterans after their return from World War II.
The church he attended, St. Mark Methodist, was founded by a small group that included Sawyer. He taught Sunday school there when he had the time.
Sawyer was a member of the Scottish Rite and the Kosair Temple. He was also a member of the Downtown Kiwanis and Hi-12 Clubs.
When he could get away from the hurly burly of politics, Sawyer said he like most to find a quiet place. He used to go to a family camp at Cumberland Lake "to hear the whippoorwills." That was one of the most soothing sounds he knew, he said.
Sawyer grew up as one of nine children at a Metcalfe County farm. His father, J. G. Sawyer, died in 1965 in Glasgow.
Took Bar Exam in 1943
E.P. Sawyer was at Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia when he met his bride-to-be, the former Jean Dunagan of Wayne County.
Sawyer came to Louisville after taking teacher training at what is now Western Kentucky University and teaching in high school at Summer Shade, Ky., for one year.
He studied at the University of Louisville and the Jefferson School of Law while working at the Naval Ordance Station.
After two years, in 1943, he took the bar examination. Then he enlisted in the Navy. Latter he learned that he ranked second in the statewide test.
Sawyer was commanding officer of a submarine chaser in the South Pacific.
He returned in 1946 to set up a law practice. He was assistant to Commonwealth Atty. Frank A. Ropke from 1947 to 1951 and was county attorney from 1951 until named judge last December.
He was a member of the Louisville, Kentucky and American Bar associations and the American Judicature Society. He also was a retire Naval Reservist.
In addition to his widow, and his daughter, Diane, a WLKY-TV reporter, Sawyer is survived by another daughter, Mrs. David F. Frankel, New York City; two brothers, H.G. Sawyer, Anawalt, W. Va., and Herman Sawyer, New York City; and six sisters, Miss Neva Sawyer, Cheyenne, Wyo.; Mrs. C. R. Walden, Edmonton, Ky.; Mrs. William C. Mann, Burkesville, Ky.; Mrs. Fred Smith, Glasgow, Ky.; MRs. Paul Brown, Cincinnati, and Mrs. Lila Simington.
The funeral tomorrow at St. Mark Methodist Church will be followed with burial in Resthaven Memorial Park. The body will be at Pearson's, 149 Breckinridge Lane, after 10 a.m. today.
Expressions of sympathy may take the form of contributions to St. Mark Methodist Church.
The Courier-Journal
Louisville, Ky
Wednesday, September 24, 1969, pp. 1 & 20
._______
.... ... ... .... .... Mrs. Sawyer met her husband when they were taking a summer term at Lindsey Wilson College. They both were students at Western Kentucky University where she was graduated with a degree in education. The former Jean Dunagan of Wayne County married Judge Sawyer in 1939. .... .... ....
The Courier-Journal
Louisville, Ky
Wednesday, May 28, 1969, p. A-22
.
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