Barbara Ann Cambell PRATHAFATKIS

1938 - ____

• BIRTH: 1938, Indiana

• MARRIAGE: 12 JUL 1984, Rochester, Fulton, IN

INDEX

[N18032] Published in The Rochester Sentinel
Saturday, June 6, 1970

Margaret E. Hall
Mrs. John (Margaret) HALL, 42, of the Millark community, was killed instantly Friday afternoon when the car in which she was riding drove onto U.S. 31 from a side road, directly into the path of an oncoming semi tractor-trailer. The accident, which occurred at 5:01 p.m. eight miles south of the city at Speck's Corner, also critically injured the driver of the car. She is Mrs. George (Barbara) PRATHAFTAKIS, 31, 529 West Fourth street, who today was in "serious' condition in the intensive care ward of South Bend Memorial hospital. The woman's teen-age daughter, Henrietta HALL, 14, and Mary PRATHAFTAKIS, 13, were treated and released at Woodlawn hospital. They were rear-seat passengers in the auto. Driver of the truck was John WOOD, 38, South Bend. He had only minor injuries.Mrs. Hall's death was the fifth from traffic accidents in Fulton county this year and follows a deadly pattern of one such fatal crash a month, beginning in April. Mrs. Hall, riding in the right front seat of the 1963 Rambler, was pronounced dead at the scene by Dr. Richard WALTON, deputy coroner. Cause of death was a fractured neck. Both the accident victim and Mrs. Prathaftakis were thrown from the auto by the impact of the crash. The latter sustained severe lacerations to head and face, possible concussion and brain damage, and multiple fractures. Miss Hall and Miss Prathaftakis had bruises, abrasions and cuts. The truck operator, Wood, had a small cut and bump on his head, plus bruises to the right hip. His rig was owned by C and E Trucking corporation of South Bend. Mrs. Prathaftakis was eastbound on the Nyona Lake road in the Rambler when she approached the intersection with U.S. 31. The truck driver, and witnesses, told police that she drove directly onto the highway at about 45 mph, into the path of the northbound truck, which was going 55 mph. The crash occurred in the center of the northbound lane and it spun the Rambler backward and out of control, when both women were thrown from the vehicle. The truck skidded 160 feet north of the crossing, where it came to stop across and blocking the highway. Investigation showed that the left front of the truck was struck by the right front of the auto. The accident was investigated by Sheriff Homer CARR and State Troopers Don SMITH and Fred FOBES, the latter working Miami county. Traffic had to be detoured around the accident scene for three hours, until the