"They told me they were
going to a show; they were
probably just driving around
a little before it started,"
Archie Patterson, father of Verna Patricia Patterson, 16, related, still somewhat in a
state of shock the morning after his daughter was killed in an auto
accident.
At shortly before 6:45 p.m. Monday, March 30, (1964) driving east
on Highway M-32, noted for its bad curves and sudden bumpy little hills,
she met with tragedy.
State police were still trying to piece together the story
and had no "official" statement. They tried Tuesday to
question the driver of the car in which "Pat" Patterson was
riding, Walter Joseph Mankowski, 21, but he kept insisting he was
driving west.
Mankowski was badly gashed around the head, where several
stitches were required to seal his wounds and apparently still wasn't
too coherent. He sustained a broken arm, hand and two broken
ankles.
The driver of the other car, John Dawson Hellenberg, 28, of
East Jordan scribbled a note to state police since his jaw was broken
and he couldn't talk. His wife, Margaret 24, collaborated his
story.
They were driving west to their home in East Jordan from
Alpena when they met the Mankowski car 255 feet west of the Big Lake
Road on M-32.
HIT HEAD ON
The Hellenberg car was struck head-on, the Mankowski
car almost head-on, indicating that he might have been trying to turn
away.
Both cars were demolished; motorists helped some of the
occupants of the car out into a snow bank, where the Walker ambulance
drivers found them.
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"Pat" Patterson was killed
instantly; Walter received several cuts about his head, and Roxie Jewell
Gatewood, 16-year-old daughter of Elsie Gatewood, received cuts, bruises
and possible internal injuries.
Hellenberg received a broken leg and jaw, and his wife Margaret a
broken arm.
Their 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Susan, received minor cuts
and bruises and was still a patient in Otsego County Memorial Hospital
Wednesday.
All the injured were taken to the Otsego County Memorial
Hospital; on Tuesday afternoon the Gatewood girl and the Hellenbergs
were transferred to Munson Hospital in Traverse City for specialized
medical service. The Gatewood girl only, was listed as critical
among the survivors of the accident.
"Pat" Patterson, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs.
Archie Patterson of Gaylord, is also survived by a sister, Joan Cottrell
of Berryville, Va. and four brothers, Robert of Gaylord, Carol of
Gladstone, James of Sanford and Thomas (T.J.) stationed with the U.S.
Army in Berlin since before last Christmas.
Funeral services had not been scheduled yet because of the
difficulty in getting Thomas home from Germany. Announcement of
the services will be made later by the Walker Funeral Home.
Young Mankowski himself just got out of the Army about a
month ago and had plans to make application with the U.S. Plywood Corp.
for a job. His father Leon, has been in Munson Hospital in
Traverse City for two weeks.
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