Car-Train Crash In Olney Kills 2 Teen-Agers

A red 1965 Mustang automobile and an eastbound Baltimore and Ohio freight train collided about 1:45 p.m. Thursday afternoon, December 1, 1966 at the B & O railroad crossing on Whittle Ave in Olney. Three persons were rushed to Richland Memorial Hospital.

Gary “Steve” Scranton, 18, driver of the Mustang was dead on arrival from injuries sustained in the crash, and 17 year-old Nancy Golly died about 4 p.m. at the hospital. Another passenger, Sharon Kapper, 17 was reported in satisfactory condition in the hospital late Thursday.

From skid marks at the scene, it appeared that the vehicle was proceeding south and the train was an eastbound freight train.  The impact demolished the automobile. The three teens were reportedly on their way to a factory where they have been participating in a general education program. Witnesses said the car pulled onto the tracks and was struck by the train.

The Decatur Herald (Decatur, IL) – Friday, December 2, 1966

Miss Nancy M. Golly, 17, of 219 E. Monroe St., passed away later that day  December 1, 1966 as a result of the car-train accident. Funeral services held in the chapel of the Schaub Funeral Home, with Rev. Joseph A. White officiating. Interment in the Zearing Cemetery in Zearing, Iowa.

Miss Golly was a senior at East Richland High School, and a member of the Evangelical United Brethren Church.

Her father, Hartley, is associated with the U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, poultry division.

She was born July 20, 1949 in Marshalltown, Iowa, she passed away December 1, 1966 as a result of a car/train accident at the B&O Railroad tracks on Whittle Avenue in Olney.

Surviving are her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Hartley Golly; two sisters, Mrs. Ronald (JoDee) Bardell of Polo, Ill., and Mrs. James (Barbara) Haynes of Oregon, Ill.; a brother, Robert Billick of Decatur; and grandparents, Mr. and Mrs. John Golly of Zearing, Iowa.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)