Obit: Fabian, Herbert E. #2 (1936 - 1957)

Contact: Stan

Email: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Fabian

----Source: OWEN ENTERPRISE (Owen, Clark County, Wis.) 06/27/1957

Fabian, Herbert E. #2 (3 DEC 1936 - 23 JUN 1957)

Death of a Greenwood (Clark Co., Wis.) area youth in a traffic accident early Sunday morning raised Clark County highway death toll for 1957 to four.

The victim was Herbert E. Fabian, 20, son of Mr. and Mrs. Emil Fabian, route 1, Greenwood, who was a passenger in a car which crashed against a concrete bridge abutment on County Highway H, 6 miles east of Christie.  He is believed to have died instantly of a broken neck and head injuries.

Fabian will be remembered around Owen as a center on some of the championship Greenwood basketball teams, and played a number of times on the local hardwood court.

Driver and only other occupant of the car was William J. Ehlers, 20, also route 1, Greenwood, who is a patient in Neillsville’s Memorial Hospital suffering from a possible jaw fracture, minor cuts and bruises, and shock.

Time and various other details of the accident have not been established.  Authorities said they would continue their investigation later when Ehlers’ condition improved.  When questioned, the injured man was unable to explain how the accident happened.  He said he and Fabian had left Marshfield about 12:30 a.m., and were enroute to their homes.

The accident was discovered by Everett Bartsch, route 2, Loyal, between 2:30 and 3:00 a.m.  As he approached, he saw Ehlers standing beside the bridge railing waving his hands and apparently suffering from shock.  He found Fabian’s body in the front seat of the car.

Bartsch place Ehlers in his own car and got in touch with a nearby farmer.  Pal Schmidt, who phoned for an ambulance to take Ehlers to the Neillsville Hospital.

Fabian’s body was taken to the Myre Funeral Home at Loyal after Clark County authorities completed a preliminary investigation of the accident.  Taking part in the investigation were Sheriff Ray Kutsche, Coroner, Robert Lulloff and Traffic officers Harry Frantz and Dale Schultz.

According to the police report the vehicle had been traveling east and struck the abutment on the south side of the highway.  There were no skid marks on the roadway, but tire tracks indicated the car traveled about 170 feet down the center and left side of the highway before crashing into the abutment.  Officers theorized that the driver may have dozed at the steering wheel.

Funeral services for Fabian were held yesterday at 2 p.m. at the Trinity Lutheran Church at Loyal with Rev. J. C. Pfohl officiating.  The body lay in state at the Myre Funeral home until yesterday noon.

Born at Greenwood Dec. 3, 1936, Fabian received his education in Eaton Center and Greenwood public schools and lived on the home farm all of his life.

He is survived by his parents and a younger brother, Frank, at home.