Obit: Debevec, Ronald A. #2 (1948 – 1967)

Contact: stan@wiclarkcountyhistory.org

Surnames: Debevec, Lulloff, Bertz, Graham, Patey, Oldham, Gutt

----Source: THORP COURIER (Thorp, Clark County, Wis.) 21 Sep 1967

Debevec, Ronald A. (15 MAY 1948 – 16 SEP 1967)

A Willard (Clark Co., Wis.) youth, Ronald A. Debevec, 18, was instantly killed and 25 cars of a Soo Line freight train derailed early Saturday when Debevec's car smashed into the train in a dense fog at a rural crossing south of Owen.

Clark County officials are investigating the death at the intersection of CTH N with the railroad's main line about six miles southeast of Owen at the Atwood crossing.

Crewmen were not aware of the cause of the derailment until they began walking the train to check, and found the youth's body and car.

The westbound auto had struck the east side of the train and then been thrown about 40 feet back from the tracks and down an embankment. The body of the driver lay about nine feet from the tracks. It was taken to the Hill Funeral Home, Greenwood.

Rail officials reported that the pileup of cars will require about 48 hours to clear and called in cleanup crews from St. Paul and Sevens Point, home base for most the the train's crewmen, to begin working at opposite ends of the pileup.

According to Coroner Robert Lulloff, the victim died of multiple head injuries, compound fracture of the right shoulder and left ar and leg, cuts and bruises. His 1957 car was ripped apart in the collision and the engine parts , including vales and pistons, were strewn along the right of way, at 1:35 a.m.

One of the front wheels had been twisted up into the radiator cowling in the crash. The car knocked off the rar wheels of the freight car it struck, the 37th of 103 cars in the train. The loads of timer, freight cars were scattered about the area. Soo Line Freight No. 8 was bound for Chicago from Minneapolis.

Work on the clearing started at 12:50 Saturday, whe a second wrecker from St. Paul arrived. More than 600 feet of track was ripped up.

The county trunk crossing was blocked for about an hour until a freight engine was moved in to take a section of the train to Owen. Debevec's death is the ninth in Clark County traffic this year. His parents are Mr. and Mrs. Robert Debevec, rt. 1, Willard.

Also investigating the crash were Sheriff Dave Bertz, Undersheriff Walter Oldham, County Patrol Officer Raymond Graham, Deputy Dan Patey, and the Colby police chief.

Debevec was born May 15, 1948 in Chicago. Besides his parents, he is survived by six sisters, Susan, Joanne, Sandra, Arlene, Marjorie and Laura, all at home; paternal grandfather, Anton Debevec Sr., and maternal grandparents, Mr. .and Mrs. Michael Gutt, Chicago.