| HIST |
Two sisters die in car-train accident - Two sisters, both from Sumter, died from injuries when the car in which they were passengers struck a flatcar pulled by a train leaving Shaw Air Force Base at a railroad crossing on Highway 76. The tragic accident occurred at approximately 8:30 p.m. on Sunday, Aug. 19. Pronounced dead at the scene was Mrs. Mary Pennington, wife of Sgt. Wade H. Pennington who was stationed at McDill Air Force Base, Fla. Her sister, Betty Lambert, wife of Sumter City Police Patrolman Charles W. "Rock" Lambert, died the following morning at Tuomey Hospital. Lambert, who was driving, was in critical condition at Tuomey Hospital while Sgt. Pennington, also a passenger, was reported in serious condition at the Shaw Air Force Base Hospital. The accident occurred when the Lambert car, headed west near the Shaw gate, pulled into the left lane to avoid several cars which had stopped for the train and struck the rear corner of the last flatcar of the train at the railroad crossing, according to the account by Item reporter Steve Hoar. Mrs. Pennington was the mother of a 6-week-old child while the Lamberts were the parents of two children, Patsy, 14, and Charlene, 5. [3] |
- Abt 1962
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