name and place of birth came from Social Security application in January 1940
The Sacramento Bee;
Sacramento, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
Traffic Mishaps Kill 11,
Three by Plunge Into River
Eleven persons died in Superior California traffic accidents,
including three Chico, Butte County residents who drowned
after their car plunged into the Feather River in Plumas
County. One occupant swam to safety.
The dead:
Jay B. Boness, 65 year old retired butcher and his 61 year
old wife, Vada.
Belden Wreck
Mr. and Mrs. Boness and Mrs. Doughty drowned about
noon yesterday when their car plunged 70 feet off
US Highway 40A into the Feather River seven miles west
of Belden, Plumas County.
A fourth occupant of the car, Mrs. Nettie Harrington, also
of Chico, escaped from the submerged car by opening a
window and swimming 40 feet to the bank. She climbed the
cliff to the highway and hailed a passing car driven by Charles
Vance, fire chief of Gridley, Butte County, who took her to
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company station at Storrie,
Plumas County, where she was treated for shock.
Boness' body was found partially out of a window of the car
by George Hallett of Tobin, Plumas County, and William Lund
of Storrie who reached the vehicle in a boat. Hallett said
Boness was almost to the surface of the water but his leg
apparently was clutched by Mrs. Doughty and he drowned
while trying to struggle free.
Body Is Recovered
Mrs. Doughty's body was recovered when the car was pulled
from the 100 yard wide pool by a tow truck.
Mrs. Harrington told Highway Patrolman Dave Story she saw
Mrs. Boness swimming away from the car and urged her to try
to make her way to the bank. Mrs. Boness' body was found
floating downstream 300 yards from the automobile.
Mrs. Harrington said Mrs. Boness was driving when the right
wheels of the westbound car left the pavement and ran along
the ditch. Mrs. Boness swerved the car in an attempt to pull
clear of the ditch, Mrs. Harrington related, but the automobile
skidded across the highway and over the cliff, striking the
embankment once before it plunged into the ten foot deep
water.
The Chico Enterprise-Record;
Chico, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
(with pictures of the deceased)
Three Chicoans Die In Icy Feather River
Woman, 68, Is Single Survivor
Three Chicoans were killed as their auto plunged 70 feet down
a canyon wall and into the icy waters of the Feather River near
Quincy yesterday while another survived the tragic accident.
Killed were Jay Jess Boness, 65, and his wife, Vada, 61, of
427 Salem Street, and Mrs. Viola May Doughty, 72, of 310
Normal Street.
The lone survivor is Mrs. Nettie Harrington, 68, who managed
to free herself from the car, which sank in nine feet of water,
and swim 40 feet to shore.
Plumas County undersheriff Leo J. Kelsey said Boness was
trapped in the car. Mrs. Boness drowned trying to swim to
shore while Mrs. Doughty was either thrown out and drowned
or was killed as a result of the crash. Her body was recovered
about 200 yards downstream.
Mrs. Harrington was taken to the home of her daughter,
Mrs. Vivian Longmire, of 369 East 17th Street, where she is
under a doctor's care.
The harrowing experience was related to Mrs. Longmire
yesterday after the injured woman's arrival in Chico.
Mrs. Harrington said she was sitting in the back seat with
Mrs. Doughty when the car went out of control. She doesn't
remember what happened to Mrs. Doughty but she recalled
that Mr. and Mrs. Boness were conscious and aware of their
grim situation when the car stopped in the water.
Boness told the occupants of the car to "roll the windows
down and get out." Mrs. Boness succeeded in getting out,
as did Mrs. Harrington and Mrs. Doughty, but Boness only
got part way out of the car.
Mrs. Harrington said Boness "couldn't swim." She saw him
partly out of the car when she reached shore and looked back,
Mrs. Boness, weighted down by a heavy coat, "could swim a
little," Mrs. Harrington told her daughter, "but she couldn't
make it to the bank."
She said there were no witnesses to the accident and that
she climbed up the embankment, hailed a passing car and went
(continued on page 2 column 2)
The Chico Enterprise-Record:
Chico, California;
Tuesday, December 10, 1957;
Page 3
Obituaries
Jay, Vada Boness
The Rev. L. G. Marony will officiate at funeral services to be
conducted in the chapel of the Brusie Funeral Home Wednesday
at 11 a.m. for Jay and Vada Boness, who died Sunday as a
result of an automobile accident. Emtombment will be in the
Chico Mausoleum.
Survivors of Mr. Boness include two sisters, Mrs. Jessie March,
of Chico, and Marjorie Boness of Los Angeles.
The Sacramento Bee;
Sacramento, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
Traffic Mishaps Kill 11,
Three by Plunge Into River
Eleven persons died in Superior California traffic accidents,
including three Chico, Butte County residents who drowned
after their car plunged into the Feather River in Plumas
County. One occupant swam to safety.
The dead:
Jay B. Boness, 65 year old retired butcher and his 61 year
old wife, Vada.
Belden Wreck
Mr. and Mrs. Boness and Mrs. Doughty drowned about
noon yesterday when their car plunged 70 feet off
US Highway 40A into the Feather River seven miles west
of Belden, Plumas County.
A fourth occupant of the car, Mrs. Nettie Harrington, also
of Chico, escaped from the submerged car by opening a
window and swimming 40 feet to the bank. She climbed the
cliff to the highway and hailed a passing car driven by Charles
Vance, fire chief of Gridley, Butte County, who took her to
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company station at Storrie,
Plumas County, where she was treated for shock.
Boness' body was found partially out of a window of the car
by George Hallett of Tobin, Plumas County, and William Lund
of Storrie who reached the vehicle in a boat. Hallett said
Boness was almost to the surface of the water but his leg
apparently was clutched by Mrs. Doughty and he drowned
while trying to struggle free.
Body Is Recovered
Mrs. Doughty's body was recovered when the car was pulled
from the 100 yard wide pool by a tow truck.
Mrs. Harrington told Highway Patrolman Dave Story she saw
Mrs. Boness swimming away from the car and urged her to try
to make her way to the bank. Mrs. Boness' body was found
floating downstream 300 yards from the automobile.
Mrs. Harrington said Mrs. Boness was driving when the right
wheels of the westbound car left the pavement and ran along
the ditch. Mrs. Boness swerved the car in an attempt to pull
clear of the ditch, Mrs. Harrington related, but the automobile
skidded across the highway and over the cliff, striking the
embankment once before it plunged into the ten foot deep
water.
The Chico Enterprise-Record;
Chico, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
(with pictures of the deceased)
Three Chicoans Die In Icy Feather River
Woman, 68, Is Single Survivor
Three Chicoans were killed as their auto plunged 70 feet down
a canyon wall and into the icy waters of the Feather River near
Quincy yesterday while another survived the tragic accident.
Killed were Jay Jess Boness, 65, and his wife, Vada, 61, of
427 Salem Street, and Mrs. Viola May Doughty, 72, of 310
Normal Street.
The lone survivor is Mrs. Nettie Harrington, 68, who managed
to free herself from the car, which sank in nine feet of water,
and swim 40 feet to shore.
Plumas County undersheriff Leo J. Kelsey said Boness was
trapped in the car. Mrs. Boness drowned trying to swim to
shore while Mrs. Doughty was either thrown out and drowned
or was killed as a result of the crash. Her body was recovered
about 200 yards downstream.
Mrs. Harrington was taken to the home of her daughter,
Mrs. Vivian Longmire, of 369 East 17th Street, where she is
under a doctor's care.
The harrowing experience was related to Mrs. Longmire
yesterday after the injured woman's arrival in Chico.
Mrs. Harrington said she was sitting in the back seat with
Mrs. Doughty when the car went out of control. She doesn't
remember what happened to Mrs. Doughty but she recalled
that Mr. and Mrs. Boness were conscious and aware of their
grim situation when the car stopped in the water.
Boness told the occupants of the car to "roll the windows
down and get out." Mrs. Boness succeeded in getting out,
as did Mrs. Harrington and Mrs. Doughty, but Boness only
got part way out of the car.
Mrs. Harrington said Boness "couldn't swim." She saw him
partly out of the car when she reached shore and looked back,
Mrs. Boness, weighted down by a heavy coat, "could swim a
little," Mrs. Harrington told her daughter, "but she couldn't
make it to the bank."
She said there were no witnesses to the accident and that
she climbed up the embankment, hailed a passing car and went
(continued on page 2 column 2)
The Chico Enterprise-Record:
Chico, California;
Tuesday, December 10, 1957;
Page 3
Obituaries
Jay, Vada Boness
The Rev. L. G. Marony will officiate at funeral services to be
conducted in the chapel of the Brusie Funeral Home Wednesday
at 11 a.m. for Jay and Vada Boness, who died Sunday as a
result of an automobile accident. Emtombment will be in the
Chico Mausoleum.
Survivors of Mr. Boness include two sisters, Mrs. Jessie March,
of Chico, and Marjorie Boness of Los Angeles.
name and place of birth came from Social Security application in January 1940
The Sacramento Bee;
Sacramento, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
Traffic Mishaps Kill 11,
Three by Plunge Into River
Eleven persons died in Superior California traffic accidents,
including three Chico, Butte County residents who drowned
after their car plunged into the Feather River in Plumas
County. One occupant swam to safety.
The dead:
Jay B. Boness, 65 year old retired butcher and his 61 year
old wife, Vada.
Belden Wreck
Mr. and Mrs. Boness and Mrs. Doughty drowned about
noon yesterday when their car plunged 70 feet off
US Highway 40A into the Feather River seven miles west
of Belden, Plumas County.
A fourth occupant of the car, Mrs. Nettie Harrington, also
of Chico, escaped from the submerged car by opening a
window and swimming 40 feet to the bank. She climbed the
cliff to the highway and hailed a passing car driven by Charles
Vance, fire chief of Gridley, Butte County, who took her to
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company station at Storrie,
Plumas County, where she was treated for shock.
Boness' body was found partially out of a window of the car
by George Hallett of Tobin, Plumas County, and William Lund
of Storrie who reached the vehicle in a boat. Hallett said
Boness was almost to the surface of the water but his leg
apparently was clutched by Mrs. Doughty and he drowned
while trying to struggle free.
Body Is Recovered
Mrs. Doughty's body was recovered when the car was pulled
from the 100 yard wide pool by a tow truck.
Mrs. Harrington told Highway Patrolman Dave Story she saw
Mrs. Boness swimming away from the car and urged her to try
to make her way to the bank. Mrs. Boness' body was found
floating downstream 300 yards from the automobile.
Mrs. Harrington said Mrs. Boness was driving when the right
wheels of the westbound car left the pavement and ran along
the ditch. Mrs. Boness swerved the car in an attempt to pull
clear of the ditch, Mrs. Harrington related, but the automobile
skidded across the highway and over the cliff, striking the
embankment once before it plunged into the ten foot deep
water.
The Chico Enterprise-Record;
Chico, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
(with pictures of the deceased)
Three Chicoans Die In Icy Feather River
Woman, 68, Is Single Survivor
Three Chicoans were killed as their auto plunged 70 feet down
a canyon wall and into the icy waters of the Feather River near
Quincy yesterday while another survived the tragic accident.
Killed were Jay Jess Boness, 65, and his wife, Vada, 61, of
427 Salem Street, and Mrs. Viola May Doughty, 72, of 310
Normal Street.
The lone survivor is Mrs. Nettie Harrington, 68, who managed
to free herself from the car, which sank in nine feet of water,
and swim 40 feet to shore.
Plumas County undersheriff Leo J. Kelsey said Boness was
trapped in the car. Mrs. Boness drowned trying to swim to
shore while Mrs. Doughty was either thrown out and drowned
or was killed as a result of the crash. Her body was recovered
about 200 yards downstream.
Mrs. Harrington was taken to the home of her daughter,
Mrs. Vivian Longmire, of 369 East 17th Street, where she is
under a doctor's care.
The harrowing experience was related to Mrs. Longmire
yesterday after the injured woman's arrival in Chico.
Mrs. Harrington said she was sitting in the back seat with
Mrs. Doughty when the car went out of control. She doesn't
remember what happened to Mrs. Doughty but she recalled
that Mr. and Mrs. Boness were conscious and aware of their
grim situation when the car stopped in the water.
Boness told the occupants of the car to "roll the windows
down and get out." Mrs. Boness succeeded in getting out,
as did Mrs. Harrington and Mrs. Doughty, but Boness only
got part way out of the car.
Mrs. Harrington said Boness "couldn't swim." She saw him
partly out of the car when she reached shore and looked back,
Mrs. Boness, weighted down by a heavy coat, "could swim a
little," Mrs. Harrington told her daughter, "but she couldn't
make it to the bank."
She said there were no witnesses to the accident and that
she climbed up the embankment, hailed a passing car and went
(continued on page 2 column 2)
The Chico Enterprise-Record:
Chico, California;
Tuesday, December 10, 1957;
Page 3
Obituaries
Jay, Vada Boness
The Rev. L. G. Marony will officiate at funeral services to be
conducted in the chapel of the Brusie Funeral Home Wednesday
at 11 a.m. for Jay and Vada Boness, who died Sunday as a
result of an automobile accident. Emtombment will be in the
Chico Mausoleum.
Survivors of Mr. Boness include two sisters, Mrs. Jessie March,
of Chico, and Marjorie Boness of Los Angeles.
The Sacramento Bee;
Sacramento, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
Traffic Mishaps Kill 11,
Three by Plunge Into River
Eleven persons died in Superior California traffic accidents,
including three Chico, Butte County residents who drowned
after their car plunged into the Feather River in Plumas
County. One occupant swam to safety.
The dead:
Jay B. Boness, 65 year old retired butcher and his 61 year
old wife, Vada.
Belden Wreck
Mr. and Mrs. Boness and Mrs. Doughty drowned about
noon yesterday when their car plunged 70 feet off
US Highway 40A into the Feather River seven miles west
of Belden, Plumas County.
A fourth occupant of the car, Mrs. Nettie Harrington, also
of Chico, escaped from the submerged car by opening a
window and swimming 40 feet to the bank. She climbed the
cliff to the highway and hailed a passing car driven by Charles
Vance, fire chief of Gridley, Butte County, who took her to
the Pacific Gas and Electric Company station at Storrie,
Plumas County, where she was treated for shock.
Boness' body was found partially out of a window of the car
by George Hallett of Tobin, Plumas County, and William Lund
of Storrie who reached the vehicle in a boat. Hallett said
Boness was almost to the surface of the water but his leg
apparently was clutched by Mrs. Doughty and he drowned
while trying to struggle free.
Body Is Recovered
Mrs. Doughty's body was recovered when the car was pulled
from the 100 yard wide pool by a tow truck.
Mrs. Harrington told Highway Patrolman Dave Story she saw
Mrs. Boness swimming away from the car and urged her to try
to make her way to the bank. Mrs. Boness' body was found
floating downstream 300 yards from the automobile.
Mrs. Harrington said Mrs. Boness was driving when the right
wheels of the westbound car left the pavement and ran along
the ditch. Mrs. Boness swerved the car in an attempt to pull
clear of the ditch, Mrs. Harrington related, but the automobile
skidded across the highway and over the cliff, striking the
embankment once before it plunged into the ten foot deep
water.
The Chico Enterprise-Record;
Chico, California;
Monday, December 9, 1957;
Front Page
(with pictures of the deceased)
Three Chicoans Die In Icy Feather River
Woman, 68, Is Single Survivor
Three Chicoans were killed as their auto plunged 70 feet down
a canyon wall and into the icy waters of the Feather River near
Quincy yesterday while another survived the tragic accident.
Killed were Jay Jess Boness, 65, and his wife, Vada, 61, of
427 Salem Street, and Mrs. Viola May Doughty, 72, of 310
Normal Street.
The lone survivor is Mrs. Nettie Harrington, 68, who managed
to free herself from the car, which sank in nine feet of water,
and swim 40 feet to shore.
Plumas County undersheriff Leo J. Kelsey said Boness was
trapped in the car. Mrs. Boness drowned trying to swim to
shore while Mrs. Doughty was either thrown out and drowned
or was killed as a result of the crash. Her body was recovered
about 200 yards downstream.
Mrs. Harrington was taken to the home of her daughter,
Mrs. Vivian Longmire, of 369 East 17th Street, where she is
under a doctor's care.
The harrowing experience was related to Mrs. Longmire
yesterday after the injured woman's arrival in Chico.
Mrs. Harrington said she was sitting in the back seat with
Mrs. Doughty when the car went out of control. She doesn't
remember what happened to Mrs. Doughty but she recalled
that Mr. and Mrs. Boness were conscious and aware of their
grim situation when the car stopped in the water.
Boness told the occupants of the car to "roll the windows
down and get out." Mrs. Boness succeeded in getting out,
as did Mrs. Harrington and Mrs. Doughty, but Boness only
got part way out of the car.
Mrs. Harrington said Boness "couldn't swim." She saw him
partly out of the car when she reached shore and looked back,
Mrs. Boness, weighted down by a heavy coat, "could swim a
little," Mrs. Harrington told her daughter, "but she couldn't
make it to the bank."
She said there were no witnesses to the accident and that
she climbed up the embankment, hailed a passing car and went
(continued on page 2 column 2)
The Chico Enterprise-Record:
Chico, California;
Tuesday, December 10, 1957;
Page 3
Obituaries
Jay, Vada Boness
The Rev. L. G. Marony will officiate at funeral services to be
conducted in the chapel of the Brusie Funeral Home Wednesday
at 11 a.m. for Jay and Vada Boness, who died Sunday as a
result of an automobile accident. Emtombment will be in the
Chico Mausoleum.
Survivors of Mr. Boness include two sisters, Mrs. Jessie March,
of Chico, and Marjorie Boness of Los Angeles.
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