Ida Mae Erwin

James Erwin and Wife Killed in Automobile Crash

James E. Erwin, 75, brother of C. W. Erwin of Lusk, and his wife, Mrs. Ida Mae Erwin, 68, of Salt Lake City, met death instantly when their 1951 Packard missed a turn on U.S. Highway 220 thirty miles southwest of Casper and crashed into a rock abutment Tuesday afternoon.

J. E. Erwin was a director of the Lusk State Bank and was enroute here to attend a meeting of the bank's board.

The impact when the auto hit the abutment was such that the front end of the sedan was completely demolished and the bodies of the victims were pinned inside making removal difficult. Rocks on the abutment weighing as much as 25 pounds were thrown 30 feet by the impact of the crash.

An open road map was found jammed between the horn lever and steering wheel of the car when the accident was reached indicating that Erwin may have been reading the map when the car missed the curve.

Funeral services will be held in Salt Lake but the time has not yet been set.

Surviving J. E. Erwin, besides C. W. Erwin of Lusk, is a daughter, Mrs. R. J. Cox, of Salt Lake City.

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