Richmond Youth 18, Is Indicted in Death of 2

Richmond, Ky – One of 23 true bills returned Wednesday by a Madison County Grand Jury charged a Richmond youth with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Phillip Runyon, 18, of Richmond was indicted in connection with the 6 p.m. July 4 deaths of Charles R. Dotson of Mt. Sterling and Orville Meadows of Olney, Illinois.

State Police said a car driven by Runyon collided with a car occupied by the two men on KY 227 nine miles northeast of Richmond.

Killed in the two-car, head-on crash was the driver of a small foreign car, Charles Raymond Dotson, 36, an Eastern Kentucky University employee from Mt. Sterling and a passenger, Orville Meadows, 23 of Olney, Ill.

State Trooper Billy Joe Johns said Runyon told him he was going south on U.S. 227 and was passing a car. Dotson was driving toward him and Runyon saw that he could not pull back into his lane in time to avoid a collision. Runyon turned onto the shoulder, apparently attempting to avoid collision. The cars collided off the highway.

Both Dotson and Meadows had crushed chests and Dotson suffered other injuries. All four occupants of the Runyon vehicle were injured and received treatment.          

Lexington Leader (Lexington, KY) – Sunday, July 9, 1967 & Thursday, October 5, 1967

Orville W. "Bud" Meadows, 23, son of Mr. and Mrs. Orville Meadows of Rt. 4, Olney was killed in a traffic accident near Richmond, Kentucky on July 4, 1967, according to word received here by his parents.

The young man was a student at Eastern Kentucky University and was riding with another student when the accident occurred. The driver was also killed according to the message.  Further details of the accident are unknown at this time.

Orville Meadows Jr. was born in Richland County on Janurary 11, 1944. He was a graduate of the East Richland High School and had completed two years of work in the graphic arts department of the university. George M. Brown, formerly of Olney, is instructor in the graphic arts or printing department of the Kentucky University.

The deceased is survived by his parents; three brothers, Richard Meadows of Cleveland, Ohio, Frank and David Meadows of Elk Grove, Illinois; three sisters, Mrs. Harvey Blain of Crestwood, Illinois, Judith Lynn and Jane Meadows at home. A grandmother, Mrs. Catherine Newton of Noble aslo survives.

Interment in Blain Cemetery.

Published in Olney Daily Mail (IL)