John William Hayes
ACCIDENT OF MAY 21 FATAL TO J.W. HAYES
John William Hayes, 32-year-old rig builder from Casper, died Monday afternoon of injuries received more than five weeks ago when his car left the road north of the Cherry Creek bridge three miles south of the Gateway on the Lance Creek-Manville road. His body was taken to Casper for burial Wednesday.
Suffering from shoulder, hip and thigh fractures, bruises and lacerations, Hayes never recovered complete consciousness. The right side of his pelvic structure had been shattered too badly to treat adequately.
Hayes had been visiting his brother, Harvey "Whitey" Hayes and working in the oil fields at Lance Creek before the accident. Although there were no witnesses to Hayes' accident, persons who met him just before his car left the road to turn over several times finally coming to a stop in the middle of Cherry Creek, reported that he was driving about 50 to 60 miles per hour. The sedan was smashed on the left side, the door being bent nearly double when it came open. It is believed that Hayes did not realize how near he was to the sharp curve over the crest of the hill and was unable to control the car at the rate of speed he was traveling.