Moore - Austin P.
Source: Crawfordsville Journal Review Sept 25, 1953
An early morning automobile accident two miles east of the city on US 136 took the life of Austin Paul Moore, 42, 305 S. Green St. Mr. Moore apparently was killed instantly about 1:05 a.m. when the station wagon he was driving crashed into a tree after careening down the side of the road for more than 200 feet. The sheriff’s office, which is investigating, said it appeared Moore had gone to sleep while driving. Tracks at the side of the road showed no apparent effort to get the station wagon back on the highway after it left the pavement. The station wagon left the traveled road just before the end of a guard rail on a curve near the Starnes Gardens. The last three posts of the guard rail were torn off by the right rear fender of the vehicle. The station wagon crashed into the tree with such force that the engine was driven back under the front seat. The top was torn loose and the frame of the car was badly bent. Moore was thrown out of the station wagon and his body was lying beside the car when passersby discovered the wreck. An unidentified truck driver apparently was the first to arrive at the scene. When he saw what had happened, he ran to a nearby house and called officers. Moore was the sixth person to lose his life in a traffic accident in Montgomery County this year. At this time last year, there had been 8. The accident victim was returning to his home from Indianapolis where he had attended a sales meeting conducted by the vacuum sweeper firm he had been representing recently. Prior to assuming the agency, he had worked for the Vandenbark Furniture Store & Gerry’s Radio Service shop as a radio and television technician. Mr. Moore was born March 14, 1911, on a farm near Waveland the son of Alexander and Minnie Copus Moore. He was married Feb 17, 1953 to Lucile Bass. He belonged to the First Methodist Church and Moose and Eagles Lodges. He was graduated from Crawfordsville HS in the class of 1928 and later attended New York University where he also taught for two years. Before coming back to Crawfordsville a few years ago, he had been a purchasing agent for the US Navy in NY. The survivors include the wife; a daughter, Phyliss Jean by a previous marriage, who lives in Dayton, Ohio; a stepson, Charles Crume, an instructor in Wesley College in Conn; his mother, a sister, Mrs. Ben Surface of New Market and several cousin, uncles and aunts as well as niece and nephew. Funeral services will be held at 2;30 p.m. Sunday at Proffitt & Son Funeral Home with Rev. John Servies in charge. Burial in Moore Cemetery near Waveland. Friends may call at the funeral home after 7 p.m. Friday – thanks so much to Rob Surface for sharing so much great Moore info