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Submitted: 2/26/21 • Approved: 3/1/21 • Last Updated: 3/4/21 • R392866-G0-S3
July 14, 1923-March 22, 1968
Beloved Father
Photo/information, courtesy of Edith Guynes Stanley
*Obituary
Three members of a Borger family were killed late Friday night in a grinding collision of their car and a truck tractor-semi-trailer two miles north of Borger on the Stinnett highway. The crash occured [sic] after the north-bound truck struck a donkey that ran onto the highway and careened into the path of the south-bound car.
Victims of the highway tragedy, described by Hutchinson County Sheriff Hugh Anderson as the worst in the county in 10 years, were Charlie Oliver Lea, 44, his wife, Ora Ruth, 43, and their 10-year-old son, Steven, of 1703 Takewell.
The three fatalities matched the total in the county for all of 1967.
A passenger in the truck Isaac Hutchins, 44, of Montgomery, Ala., received severe head cuts but was reported in satisfactory condition Saturday by North Plains Hospital attendants.
The truck driver, John Davis Hartman, 37, also of Montgomery, was released from the hospital after an examination and emergency treatment for bruises.
Three ambulances, an emergency pickup and a fire truck from the Borger Fire Department rushed to the scene.
Highway patrolmen were assisted at the scene by units from the Hutchinson County sheriff's department and the Borger police department. "The mutual efforts of these agencies kept us from having more problems and possibly another accident," said Highway Patrolman Tom Wicker.
According to the investigating officers, the 1967 GMC truck tractor and semi-trailer driven by Hartman was headed north when a donkey ran onto the highway. Officers said the driver swerved in an effort to miss the animal but the left front tire hit the burrow.
After striking the donkey the trust careened to the left into the south-bound traffic lane and the 1962 Pontiac sedan driven by Lea crashed into the right rear driving wheel of the truck tractor. The impact spun the car to the right and the trailer, the fifth wheel of which was snapped off, fell to the right atop the sedan.
Officers said Mrs. Lea was thrown from the car to the pavement by the impact. Lea and the boy were partly pinned in the car, but officers and passersby were able to remove them from the wreckage.
The car was totally demolished. Damage to the truck and semi-trailer, owned by P & P Truck Co. of Montgomery, was estimated at about $2,000.
Officers had been unable to determine Saturday who owned the donkey, which was killed when hit by the truck.
The collision occurred at 11:05 p.m. at a point where the Stinnett Highway intersects Farm-to-Market Road 1559. At this point the divided highway to Stinnett narrows from four lanes to two lanes. Officers said the truck had passed the center median of the divided highway when it struck the donkey.
Friends and relatives of the accident victims, who gathered at the family's Borger home Saturday, said Mr. and Mrs. Lea and Steven were returning to Borger from Stinnett, where they had visited two families, the J.E. Morgans and the Don Hoopers.
Lea, who recently had bought new hunting rifles for Steven and himself, had wanted to show the guns to the Stinnett friends, a relative said. The Leas, who formerly lived in Stinnett, had moved to Borger four years ago.
Two daughters, Charlotte, 19, and Cheryl, 17, had not made the Stinnett trip and were at home when the tragedy occurred.
Lea, who was a welder at Phillips Petroleum Co., Borger refinery, was born in Bartlesville, Okla., on July 14, 1923. He was a member of the Stinnett First Baptist Church. He was a coach in the city's Minor League baseball organization. Besides his two daughters, he is survived by his parents, C.M. Lea of Cushing, Okla., and Mrs. Bertha Lea of Dewey, Okla.; a brother, Merle Lea of Bartlesville; five sisters, Mrs. Rosie Barnard and Miss Irene Lea of Dewey, Mrs. Stella Davidson and Mrs. Alice Thompson of Wichita, Kans., and Mrs. Virginia Slope of Bartlesville.
Mrs. Lea, born Sept. 20, 1924, was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church. Besides her daughters, she is survived by her mother and stepfather, Mr. and Mrs. Fred Thurman of Borger; and three brothers, Amon Langdon and Fred Langdon, both of Amarillo, and Allen Langdon of Newberry, Calif.
Steven, born Jan. 29, 1958 in Borger, was a fourth grader at Gateway Elementary School. He was a member of the Calvary Baptist Church. He is survived by his sisters, maternal grandparents and paternal grandparents.
Funeral services will be held at 3 p.m. Monday at Calvary Baptist Church with the Rev. Charles Broadhurst, pastor, officiating. Interment will follow in Westlawn Memorial Park under the direction of Simpson Funeral Home.
(Published in Borger News Herald, Sunday, March 24, 1968)
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Texas Death Index, 1903-2000
Name: C Lea
Death Date: 22 Mar 1968
Death County: Hutchinson
Gender: Male
Texas, Death Certificates, 1903-1982
Name: C O Lea
Birth Date: 14 Jul 1923
Birth Place: Bartlesville, Oklahoma
Gender: Male
Race: White
Residence: Borger, Hutchinson, Texas
Father: C M Lea
Mother: Bertha Long
Age at Death: 44
Death Date: 22 Mar 1968
Death Place: Borger, Hutchinson, Texas, USA
Contributed on 2/26/21 by neldapat
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Record #: 392866