The 1964 Car Accident

The deadliest accident in Washington Township's history occurred on September 24, 1964.

WCHS senior Linda Holt lived on Robin Road in Sunnyland and was picking up some friends to go to school. In the Beverly Manor subdivision, she hopped into her Mercury and picked up four girls, seniors Barbara Schofield, Brenda Sanderson, Essie Johnson, and sophomore Claudia Kaufman. Sanderson had been dropped off at the bus stop by her father and directed to take the bus to school, but she picked up a ride from Holt unbeknownst to him.

The Mercury was headed into town on Washington Road, a two-lane road with a speed limit of fifty.  As they approached the curve at the area known as “the forks” (the curve just west of Cherry Tree Shopping Center), her right tire momentarily dropped off the road onto the gravel shoulder. She over-corrected, sending her sideways into the other lane into the path of a Ford Galaxie driven by May Speer of Eureka with Carol Zimmerman in the passenger seat.

The Mercury was T-boned in a violent collision.

Schofield was pronounced dead at the scene.  When her father heard of the accident, he hurried to the hospital in Peoria, only to be told of his daughter’s fate and that she had been taken directly to Habecker’s Funeral Home.  Barbara was active in the chorus in high school, as well as tumbling and Spanish Club. She was the daughter of Joseph and Gertrude Schofield.  Barbara is buried in Swan Lake Memory Gardens in Peoria.

Linda Holt, the driver, was alive when paramedics put her in the ambulance but was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital.  She participated in chorus and G.R.A. in high school and was the daughter of Howard and Mavis Young.  Linda is buried in Hope Springs, Arkansas.

Brenda Sanderson, whose father had dropped her off at the bus stop, died 20 minutes after admittance to the hospital.  She was the daughter of Homer and Maxine Sanderson and was also in the chorus at the high school and the pep club.  Brenda is buried in Hamilton, Alabama.

Essie Johnson died about 12 minutes after being admitted.  She also participated in the chorus at WCHS.  Essie was the daughter of Crump and Wilda Johnson.  She is buried in Selmar, Tennessee.

The occupants in the other vehicle also sustained injuries that were non-life-threatening.  The lone survivor in the Holt vehicle, Claudia Kaufman, sustained severe injuries, including a concussion, broken ribs, broken collarbone, and facial lacerations.  She was unconscious for several days after the accident and made a prolonged but complete recovery.  She graduated from WCHS in 1967.  She married soon after high school and passed away in Arizona in 2004.