Individual Details

Death

Mrs. William Furr, 26, and J. D. Blackwell, 35, of Staunton, were electrocuted Thursday morning by a shock received from a high power electric transmission line over which a radio aerial Blackwell was dismantling had fallen. Mrs. Furr was killed when she went to the man’s assistance and Mrs. William B. Morris, mother of Mrs. Furr, narrowly escaped death in the same manner. The accident occurred at 10 o’clock and efforts to resuscitate the victims were continued for several hours. At 2:30 o’clock that afternoon County Corner J. B. Catlett declared Blackwell dead bat hope for Mrs. Furr was not abandoned until 5:30 o’clock. Mr. Blackwell was assisting Mrs. Furr and members of her family in packing household goods to be shipped to Washington, where Mr. Furr is employed. He cut one end of the aerial from its support and was holding this in his hand when it sagged in the middle and came in contact with the wire carrying the high voltage. Mrs. Furr was caught when she tried to full him loose after he fell from a ladder, landing on the charged aerial, and Mrs. Morris extricated herself only after a struggle wbejl she caught hold of her daughter. The circuit finally was broken by Glenn Crafton, a youthful neighbor, who responded to calls and pushed Blackwell otf the wire with a wooden handle of a shovel.
Strasburg News, Strasburg, Virginia, October 21, 1931