The Payette Independent
Thursday, January 07, 1926
WEISER GIRL WRECK VICTIM
NIECE OF KARL KORUP OF PAYETTE FATALLY HURT IN AUTO WRECK WHICH OCCURRED NORTH OF ONTARIO TUESDAY NIGHT.
WEISER - Despite her own heroic efforts, and those of her escort, Avis Waters, 20-year-old Weiser girl, died at 5 o'clock Wednesday morning from injuries received in an automobile accident which occurred eight miles west of here shortly before midnight. Joel Heath, 22, her companion, lies dangerously hurt in an Ontario hospital suffering from internal injuries. He is still too dazed to give a clear account of the accident or the cause.
The young couple had attended a dance at Vale earlier in the evening, and were returning to Weiser, when the accident happened. Miss Waters was driving the car at the time.
Persons who visited the scene Wednesday believe the accident was caused by a thin coating of ice on the road. Wheel marks indicate the car skidded off the road to the left, and was apparently righted only to slide into a ditch on the opposite side. The car, a roadster, turned completely over, pinning Heath beneath the wreckage and rendering his companion unconscious.
Upon regaining consciousness, Miss succeeded in digging her companion from beneath the wreckage with a piece of broken glass from the windshield. How long the process required or how long she lay unconscious Heath could not state but knowing the time they left Vale for Weiser, it is estimated that two hours elapsed before Heath had been freed from the wreckage. After extracting her companion Miss Waters collapsed.
The young man then carried the girl to the nearest house, a distance of a mile. While occupants of the house were summoning aid, Heath collapsed from the strain and exposure. Both were rushed to the Ontario hospital, where the girl died a few hours later without regaining consciousness.
Injuries sustained by Heath, which may prove fatal, were several broken ribs, a punctured lung, which resulted in internal hemorrhages and other possible injuries. Severe shock and the result of the long exposure and his heroic efforts in carrying his companion to the farm house make his condition more dangerous. Dr. Curt Barlett was the physician called.
Miss Waters is the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. L. E. Waters of Weiser. She graduated from the Weiser high school two years ago.
Funeral services will be held from the family home at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon, Rev. George Fowler of the Congregational church conducting the services.
Besides her parents she is survived by one brother, Franz, and her grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Franz Korup, of Weiser.
Joel Heath is the son of George Heath, a Weiser tailor. He had recently returned here from Detroit.
- Miss Avis Waters was a niece of Karl Korup of this city and was an exceptionally popular young lady. The editor of the Independent has known her since her childhood and her untimely death is a great shock to us as well as to her relatives and the entire citizenship of Weiser.