THE OKLAHOMAN
JANUARY 24, 1960
SUNDAY
PAGE 142

Three City Children, Mother Dies In Crash On Trip To California

Truck Smash Into Their Car In Foggy Road

Brother, Sister Of Four Victims Hurt In Smashup

An Oklahoman City woman and three of her children were killed Saturday morning when their stalled car was ripped apart by a steel-laden semi-trailer truck near curve on fog-cloaked California highway.
Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood, 35, of 1604 S Lowery, and three children, Gwen, 11, Sandy, 7, and Leon, 9, were killed when their car was torn apart; Trooper Art Becker of the California Highway Patrol said.
Two other children, Rebecca, 6, and Gary, 7, were taken to the Tulare County Hospital. Rebecca is reported in fair condition suffering from a fractured hip and arm. Gary is in good condition suffering from Lacerations of the forehead.

~~~ Auto Stalled ~~~

The accident occurred near a curved and an underpass on four-lane U.S. 99 mid-way between Bakersfield and Fresno.
Becker quoted Gary as saying the Wood car had been stalled in the right lane and was starting when it was struck from the rear. Emmanuel Mello, Visalia, Calif., driver of the semi-trailer loaded with steel plates, told the California highway patrol he rounded a curve in the highway and at the last minute saw an unlighted car, Becker said.

~~~ Car's Side Ripped ~~~

The truck, in an attempt to miss the car hit the auto at an angle and the bumper of the huge truck caught a fender of the car and ripped off the left side and top.
The impact sent the car careening up and embankment. It toppled of the incline and bounced back on to the highway where it was struck by a second auto.
Mello was not injured. Mrs. Wood and the children, who neighbors said had only recently moved to 1604 S Lowery, were reportedly on their way to Richmond, Calif., to see Leon D. Wood, the father and husband.


THE OKLAHOMAN
JANUARY 27, 1960
WEDNESDAY
PAGE 15
"OBITUARY"

Service Friday For Four Killed In Auto Wreck

Services for Mrs. Juanita Ruby Wood, 1604 S Lowery, and three of her children, Gwen, 11, Sandy, 7, and Leon, 9, will be at 2 p.m. Friday in Hunter Funeral Chapel. Burial will be in Sunny Lane Cemetery.
Mrs. Wood and the three children were killed Saturday in an automobile accident between Bakersfield and Fresno, Calif., Mrs. Wood was going to Richmond, Calif., to see her husband, Leon D. Wood.
Surviving are six sons, Roy Lee, Oklahoma City; Arvin, Curtis, Bennie and Glenn, all of Richmond, and Gary of the home; a daughter, Rebecca, of the home; the father James E. Sharum, 3020 SW 21; six brothers, Leonard, Ada; Ralph, route 5, Guthrie; Roy, east of the city; James jr., 2525 W Grand Ave.; Boyd, Hayward, Calif., and Alvin, Lawton; three sisters, Edity Smith, 3020 SW 21; Mae Smith, Tulsa, and Betty Jean Sharum, Enid.