David Ernest McKenzie, 22, of Minford, was killed when the car he was driving figured in a collision with a car driven by Harold Thomas Jones, 25, of 1123 10th Street.  The death is the 19th in the rural area of Scioto County this year.

 

Sheriff Earl Brandel and Deuties James Morgan and Landon Ball investigated the accident and filed the second degree manslaughter charge against Mr. Jones Sunday afternoon.

 

In municipal court today, Jones pleaded not guilty, waived preliminary examination and was held for grand jury investigation.

 

Judge Ralph A. Stevens fixed bond at $300 and William Moore, clerk of court, said Mr. Jones was arranging to furnish bond to obtain release.

 

Other occupants of the McKenzie automobile injured were:  Frances Raffel, 19, of Highland Bend, head bruises, abrasions on the body and shock; James Walters, 20, of Minford, cuts on his face, and Hobart Baker, 20 of Minford, minor bruises.

 

Occupants of the Jones automobile were:  Howard Dawson, 27 of 1410 12th Street, laceration on forehead and bruised knee; Elizabeth Dawson, 23, of 1213 9th Street, strained neck and abrasions on kneew; Pauline Findeis, 27 of 1314 18th Street injured chest and bruised back; Garnet Roberts, 22 of 1532 Fourth Street, abrasions near left eye; and Charles Roberts, 25, of 1531 Fourth Street, cut on chin.

 

Mr. McKenzie, who died in Lynn's ambulance while en route to the hospital, suffered a serious fracture of the skull.

 

Coroner Virgil E. Fowler, said the victim's forehead was crushed and the fracture caused death.

 

Sheriff Brandel said his investigation disclosed that the roadster driver by Mr. McKenzie was on the right side of the highway, and the other car cut across the highway into the other machine.

 

Deputy Sheriff James Morgan said the highway at the point of the wreck is 32 feet and 6 inches wide and that tire imprints left when the card crashed showed the Jones automobile was on the wrong side of the highway.

 

Occupants of the Jones automobile admitted to Sheriff Brandel that the car was traveling in the center traffic land of the highway when the wreck occurred.

 

Questioned by Sheriff Brandel and Deputy Jack Kean, Jones admitted having left a West Side night club a few minutes before the wreck.

 

He said that his party of friends met in a Portsmouth cafe where he drank whiskey.  They then went to the night club and he said he had another drink of whiskey and his companion drank four quarts of beer.

 

He denied that he was under the influence of liqour but admitted that he was driving the middle traffic land.

 

He said the driver of the other car was in the middle traffic lane and when he Jones, looked up and saw the lights of the approaching car, he cut his car to the right but it was too late.

 

Mr. Dawson told Sheriff Brandel that the Jones car was in the middle traffic lane and the roadster was on the right side of the road.

 

He said he did not know why the Jones car was in the middle traffic lane, but "he thought the driver was not paying any attention to what he was doing."  Mr. Dawson said Jones was not intoxicated.

 

James Walters and Hobart Baker, occupants of the roadster, said they met David McKenzie and Frances Raffle at a beer parlor on Scioto Trail north of Portsmouth.  They said the four decided to go to a West Side night club.

 

The left door of the McKenzie automobile came open after the impact, and the driver fell partially out of the automobile.  His legs remained near the controls in the floor boards and Frances Raffle was thrown on top of him.

 

Deputy Morgan administered first aid in an attempt to stop the flow of blood from the victim's head.

 

McKenzie's body was moved from the hospital to Lynn funeral home and later to the Davis-Hammerstein funeral home at Beaver.