Individual Details

Death

WINGATE — A family died Monday when a little five year-old succumbed to injuries from a head-on highway accident near here Sunday. Annette Butler followed in death her father and pregnant mother, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas F. Butler of Rossville, Ga. They died instantly in the crash along with Phyllis Furr of West End, sister of Mrs. Butler. The Butlers were returning Miss Furr to her Moore County home after her visit to their Georgia home. They were about 60 miles from West End, when an oncoming car came around a curve on their side of the road. The only occupant of the oncoming car Robert Bruce Tomberling of Marshville, also died in the grinding crash. Highway Patrolman D. H. Grayson, told The Observer investigation indicated Tomberling had been drinking at about the time of the accident. Tomberling operated a drive-in grill near Marshville. Authorities said little Annette was screaming for her mother as the child was taken from the wreckage and rushed to the hospital for treatment. At first, her injuries were not believed too serious. Later, her condition grew worse. Grayson said Motorist James F. Scholl, a Virginian visiting in Belmont was the first to arrive at the scene of the crash. Scholl told Grayson that Tomberling had passed him at high speed and was swerving ‘‘all over the highway.” The two cars collided at 7:50 p.m. on a sweeping curve in front of the home of Corun Baucom on Highway 74 about a mile east of the Wingate business district. Highway traffic was blocked for more than an hour as cars backed up two miles in either direction. Grayson said Tomberling who was headed west hit the Butler car hard enough to knock it 10 feet backward. Highway scars made by a broken frame indicated the point of impact. The motors in both vehicles were shoved into the front seats. The bodies of the Butlers and Miss Furr were taken Monday to a funeral home at Candor in Montgomery County. Funeral services for all four victims will be held Wednesday at 3 p. m. at the West End Methodist Church. Burial will follow in the church cemetery. Mrs. Butler and Miss Furr are survived by their parents, Mr. and Mrs. Reid Furr of West End; sisters, Mrs. Doris Craven of Burlington, Mrs. Patricia Blackmon and Miss Sherrie Furr of West End; brothers, Billy of High Point and Sammy, Jerry and Donnie, all of West End. Final rites for Tomberling will be held today at 2 p. m. at Rocky River True Light Church in Union County. He is survived by his wife; sons, Robert Bruce Jr. and Rodney, both of Concord; brother, Herman of Marshville. Butler's mother, Mrs. John Butler, resides in Joppa, Alabama. The five fatalities increased Union County's death toll for the year to 15.
The Charlotte Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina, August 30, 1960