Obit: Snyder, E. W. (1895? - 1941)

Contact: Stan

Surnames: Snyder, Keskimaki, Hanson, Kriplean

----Sources: Colby Phonograph (Colby, Clark County, Wis.) 11/06/1941

Snyder, E. W. (1895? - 4 Nov. 1941)

E. W. Snyder, age about 46, of Fond du Lac, salesman for an electrical equipment firm, was instantly killed Tuesday afternoon when the Oldsmobile he was driving collided with a Kriplean Brothers whey truck, driven by Eugene Keskimaki of Withee, Wis. The smash-up took place at the junction of county trunks M and H near Auburndale.

At the time of the accident Snyder was driving west and Keskimaki north, and, when the latter came over a hill, he saw the Oldsmobile about three times as far from the intersection as he was. He sounded his horn, and when he saw that the Oldsmobile did not slack in speed he applied his brakes, as could be ascertained from marks on the pavement, and then also turned the truck way to the left and hit the ditch to avoid the accident. Snyder, on the other hand, did not apply his brakes, as no skid marks could be found, and made no attempt to avoid the truck. He hit the truck between the door and the front end and then he was thrown beneath the rear wheels of the truck.

The sun visor of the Oldsmobile was turned way down on the left side so it is believed that Snyder did not see the truck. The radio in the car was also going full blast so it is also believed that that may have been the reason why Snyder did not hear the warning blast from the truck horn.

It is estimated that the truck, just coming over a hill, was not being driven over 25 miles an hour and the Oldsmobile was going at a rate of at least 60 miles an hour. A farmer, plowing in a field not far away, said he heard the truck horn and later the crash. Tony Hanson, Wood county traffic officer, informed A. J. Kriplean of Colby, who immediately went to the scene of the accident to investigate when he received the report, that it was his opinion that the Oldsmobile driver was fully at fault.

The Oldsmobile was badly smashed and the door and side of the truck were damaged.

Snyder is survived by a son and two daughters of Fond du Lac. He was a member of a field sales and installation crew of nine persons working for the Linden Electric Company of Fond du Lac, it was reported, and had been living in Marshfield for the past two months. Leonard Snyder, his son, was also a member of the crew and was staying in Marshfield.