KELLER, Richard Lee
Keller Baby Killed in Crash near Kingman
Source: "Obituaries - Year - 1960 Volume B" from the Covington Public Library. Year 1964
Nine-month-old Richard Lee Keller was killed Sunday afternoon and Cloyd Kiger Jr., critically injured in an accident at a gravel road intersection near Palmers sawmill 6 miles south of Veedersburg.
Richard Lee was the son of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Keller who had recently bought a house and moved into Veedersburg. The Kellers were attending a cook-out at the home of Mrs. Keller's aunt, Mrs. James Bentley, of Veedersburg R. 1 when Mr. Keller decided to take the baby and run out to his father's home for a little while on Kingman R. 2.
The accident occurred about 3:45 p.m. at a blind intersection on the Veedersburg Kingman Road near Clyde Palmer's sawmill. State Trooper Stan Kenny, County Sheriff George Cruea and Deputy Coroner John Roemer investigated. The Keller, car hit the Kiger pickup truck broadside at the intersection where vision was obscured by crops.
Keller. managed to free his leg which was pinned in the car and got out. The car broke into flames and he grabbed his son and extricated him through the rear window. He ran with him to the Palmer home where the infant
died within seconds while lying on the davenport. Palmer put out the fire with an extinguisher.
Keller is in St. Elizabeth Hospital at Danville where 24 stitches were required to close a wound on his, head. He Mad a broken jaw which was set on Monday morning though further x-rays were to be taken on Tuesday because of the unnatural swelling. One arm was severely swollen, and an ear nearly lacerated.
Kiger, 41, a resident of the Yellow Heaven neighborhood southwest of Cates, and the father of nine children was taken to St.
Elizabeth Hospital with lacerations of the face and head. Monday afternoon he was transferred to the Robert Long Hospital in Indianapolis. His condition remains critical.
Funeral services for Richard Lee Keller were held at 2 p. m. on Wednesday at Woodrow Funeral Home in Kingman with burial in Lutheran Cemetery east of Wallace. He was preceded in death by a sister who died in an Indianapolis hospital shortly after birth from a heart condition.
Surviving besides the parents are maternal grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Earl Ward of Wallace, paternal grandparents, Mr. and
Mrs. Delmer Keller of Veedersburg R.2; maternal great-grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. Tom Ward, of Wallace and Ora Stonebraker
of Danville; and paternal great-grandparents Mr. and Mrs. Cluster Keller of Kingman R.2 and Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Pritchard of Lafayette.
The mother is the former Caroline Sue Ward and both she and her husband are employed at
Radio Materials' Corporation at Attica.