Inc. 1967
A district youth died Friday afternoon, July 22,1955,of a head injury he suffered in a freak accident on Route 51 in Rostraver Township. John James Evans,18,son of Mr. and Mrs. Ziga Evans,of Monessen highway, Belle Vernon R.>D.2, was riding atop a hay truck traveling south on Route 51 near Twin Coaches when the vehicle passed under the Pittsburgh and West Virginia Railroad bridge crossing the hghway. The back of Evans' head was smashed against the underside of the bridge,knocking him back into the loose hay in the body of the truck. He made no outcry when the accident occurred, so the driver,John Kerestes,Jr.,of Belle Venron R.D.3,unaware of what had happened,continued driving towards his father's farm,located about three miles south of Twin Coaches,a half-mile off Route 51. Upon ariving at the farm,young Kerestes noticed Mr. Evans was missing from the top of the truck. He climbed to the top of the truck and found Mr. Evans lying unconscious in the hay. The accident victim was taken to Charleroi-Monessen Hospital in an ambulance,but he failed to respond to treatment and died of a fractured skull at 2:55 p.m.,less than two hours after he was hurt. Mr. Evans,who was spending a day with the Kerestes family,is survived by his parents;three brothers, Steve Evans,of Belle Vernon R.D.1,Julius Evans,of Pricedale and William Evans,at home;and two sisters, Mrs. Joseph (Margaret) Such,of McKeesport and Mrs. William (Emma-jene) Lelik of Donora. A 1955 graduate of Rostraver Township High School, Mr. Evans was a member of the McKeesport Naval Reserve Unit. He had completed a 10-week Summer training course at Bainbridge,Md.,only a week ago. Friends are being received at the Melenyzer-Ferguson Funeral Home in North Belle Vernon. Services for the deceased will be held at St. Sebastian Roman Catholic Church at 9:30 a.m. Monday,with the Very Rev. Francis L. Martin in charge. Burial will follow in Belle Vernon Cemetery.
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