NEWSPAPERS: J. V. Miller accidental death, Jackson County, Oregon *************************************************************************** USGENWEB ARCHIVES(tm) NOTICE All documents placed in the USGenWeb Archives remain the property of the contributors, who retain publication rights in accordance with United States Copyright Laws and Regulations. In keeping with our policy of providing free information on the Internet, these documents may be used by anyone for their personal research. They may be used by noncommercial entities so long as all notices and submitter information is included. These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit. Any other use, including copying files to other sites, requires permission from the contributors PRIOR to uploading to the other sites. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *************************************************************************** Transcribed and formatted for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Elizabeth Corethers 2 July 2003 *************************************************************************** Medford (Oregon) Mail Tribune, Monday, 10 Jun 1929, p. 1, c. 7 J. V. MILLER OF ASHLAND DIES IN AUTO CRASH Heavy Car Sideswipes Coupe at Neil Creek Sunday Morning in Hurry to Reach Home From Hilt Dance -- Both Cars in Ditch. J. V. Miller, 56, well known Ashland resident, met instant death at 1:15 yesterday morning when his heavy sedan, after sideswiping a car driven by J. S. Brooks of Hilt, Calif., plunged into a ditch and turned over twice at Neil Creek, south of Ashland. Four other occupants were not injured. The two occupants of the Brooks machine also escaped serious injury. Miller is a railroad engineer, and had lived in Ashland for years. Both cars were north bound, and Miller, in passing Brooks, turned in too abruptly in front, according to officers, tearing off the front wheel of the Brooks machine, which went careening into a rail fence 100 feet after having been struck. Miller kept his car upright for 250 feet and then plunged into a five-foot muddy ditch, completely demolishing the car. The four passengers were thrown through the top, but none was rendered unconscious. Miller, driving a 1927 Rickenbacker, was returning from a dance at Hilt, Calif. He was in a hurry to reach Ashland, according to Traffic Sergeant C. P. Talent, who investigated the wreck and he is believed to have been driving at a high rate of speed causing him to lose control of the car after sideswiping the Brooks machine, an Erskine coupe. The traffic officer arrived at the scene 15 minutes after the accident occurred and found Miller lying in the mud, his skull fractured. The other occupants of the car, Mr. and Mrs. James Daugherty, William Dean and William Van Dyke, all of Ashland, were near the wreck when the officer arrived. They were suffering from shock and bruises and were rushed to the Ashland hospital for first aid treatment. Although the window in the door of his coupe was broken, Brooks sustained no injuries. A companion, however, sustained a cut hand and fainted a short time after the wreck took place. Miller leaves his wife to mourn his loss, and a step-daughter in New York city. Mrs. Miller is also well known in Ashland, and has been employed by the Ashland Tidings as society editor. The death is the fourth auto fatality in Jackson County this year.