O'Brien, Ray H.

Passed: 1928-07-09

Age: 37

Source: Mountaineer

Death Notice:

Obituary Date: 1928-07-13

Information: RAY O'BRIEN KILLED; TWO OTHERS INJURED IN AUTOMOBILE WRECK - Ripley was profoundly shocked Monday when Judge W. H. O'Brien received a telephone message from Fairmont stating that his son, Ray O'Brien had died in the St. Francis hospital at Clarksburg due to an automobile accident a few hours before.  Judge O'Brien received a message from Mrs. O'Brien a few hours before stating that Ray had been in an automobile wreck and had received several injuries, but none were thought to be serious.  The message stated that he had a rib broken and several cuts about his body and head, but she assured Judge O""Brien that Ray would be about in a few days.  The next message brought the sad news.  The accident happened on the road between Fairmont and Grafton.  Mr. O'Brien and a business partner, J. T. Hall, and a boy were in the car.  Mr. Hall received a broken leg and the boy several cuts and bruises.  Nothing is known about the particulars of the wreck further than that it happened at a bridge.      The Piggley Wiggley Chain Store Company, in which Mr. O""Brien was a stockholder and held a responsible position and Mr. Hall, also a stockholder in the company, had opened a new store at Grafton and the two men and the boy were on their way to Grafton to see about the new store when the accident happened.  Mr. O'Brien was 37 years old.  He is survived by his wife and one son, his father, Judge W. H. O'Brien; three brothers, C. O. O'Brien and H. L. O'Brien of Huntington and Fred H. O'Brien of Middlebourne.  Later information relative to the accident is that the car was wrecked about ten miles out of Clarksburg on a straight road near a bridge.  Mr. Hall was driving the car and had ""picked up"" the boy riding with them.  The car went over an almost perpendicular embankment for seventy five feet, completely demolishing it and throwing the three occupants out.  Mr. O'Brien is supposed to have lit on the railroad track. The boy near him and Mr. Hall landed in the road with the steering wheel still in his hand.  The cause of the accident is not known further than an accident had happened the day before very near this place and the boy was telling the men about it, and it is supposed that Mr. Hall in looking for the place where the accident occured, had taken his eys off the road and by so doing had turned the car out of the road.  The funeral services were held at Ravenswood at 2 pm today and burial was made in the Ravenswood cemetery.  The Masonic orders of Ripley and Ravenswood had charge of obseguies at the grave.