Thomas Woodrow OWENS^[1]

1942 - 1959  (16 years)

• Name	Thomas Woodrow OWENS  [2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]
  Birth	25 Oct 1942	Conway, South Carolina
  Gender	Male
  HIST	drunk driver killed him- hit and run Driver Says That He thought He Hit Dog- A 16-year old Myrtle Beach youth was fatally injured in a hit-and-run accident here Saturday evening, October 17 on the Old Conway Highway. It was the third highway accident here in as many weeks. * Woodrow Thomas Owens, son of Mr. and Mrs. Park Owens of Rt.1, Myrtle Beach, was pronounced dead some four hous after being taken to Ocean View Memorial Hospital following the accident. * According to J. A. Gunter, investigating officer for the State Highway Department, six boys, including the Owens boy, were riding double on bicycles headed north from Myrtle Village. They were overtaken by a 1956 Ford driven by John Britt, 27, of Myrtle Beach. The Britt car struck the bicycle carrying Owens and Stewart Jones from the rear. Patrolman Guner reported that Britt proceeded, without stopping, to the home of his brother-in-law to get his wife and heard there about the accident. “I thought I’d hit a dog,” Britt said. * About one and one-half hours after the accident, Britt turned himself in to local police and was taken into custody. He was taken to the County jail in Conway pending further investigation. No bond has been set, but office personnnel at the jail said that bond was being arranged by Britt’s attorney. Patrolman Gunter said, “I have it down as a hit-and-run.” * According to Britt, an approaching car momentarily blinded him and he did not see the boys riding ahead of him. He felt the impact but continued on, thinking it a dog he had struck. * Junior Dix and Bob Bates, both of Myrtle Village, were on another bicycle and were wittnesses to the accident. According to them, Britt “slowed up a minute and raced on.” He was going “pretty fast,” they added. * The other boys headed for the ditch with their bicycles after the Owens boy was hit. * Patrolman Gunter said the other bicycles were all equipped with headlights and had reflectors on the rear except for the Owens boy’s. He added that he found a flashlight at the scene of the accident that contained no batteries and indicated that Owens might have been on his way to repair the light. Stewart Jones was not seriously injured according to Gunter’s report. * This was the third serious highway acccident here in a three week period. A Surfside family of three sustained minor injuries last week in an accident on highway 17 and a two-car accident on highway 501 resulted in the injury of several occupants of the cars. This was the first fatality involved. * Woodrow Thomas Owens would have celebrated his 17th birthday this week. * Funeral services for the accident victim were held at 4 p.m. Monday in the First Baptist Church of Myrtle Beach, the paster, the Rev. Dr. Carl E. Compton, officiating, assisted by the Rev. Dr. C. D. Brearly, pastor of the Myrtle Beach Presbyterian Church. Burial was in Ocean Wood Memorial Park. * Active pallbearers were Bobby Bates, Freddie Dutton, Junior Dixon, W. C. Sellers, Wayne Owens and Billie Bone. * Honorary pallbearers were members of his class at Myrtle Beach High School. * Young Owens was born in Conway Oct. 25, 1942. He was a member of the First Baptist Church of Myrtle Beach and was in the 10th grade at Myrtle Beach High School. * Surviving, besides his parents, are a brother, Norman Reames Owens; two sisters, Linda Owens and Jeannette Owens, all of the home; the paternal grandmother, Mrs. S. S. Owens, Rt 1, Myrtle Beach and several aunts an uncles. Thomas Woodrow Owens Memorial Photos Flowers Edit Share Learn about sponsoring this memorial... Birth:  1942 Death:  1959   Family links:   Parents:   Roosevelt Park Owens (1902 - 1979)   Alberta Reames Owens (1909 - 1987)    Sibling:   Norman Reames Owens (1941 - 2000)*   Thomas Woodrow Owens (1942 - 1959)   *Calculated relationship   Burial: Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery Myrtle Beach Horry County South Carolina, USA   Created by: Steve Centner Record added: Aug 02, 2010 Find A Grave Memorial# 55753053  [2, 5, 6]
  _UID	2FE00BA7EF7944C5B9980A42073279B93AF4
  Death	17 Oct 1959	Myrtle Beach, South Carolina   [2]
  Burial	Ocean Woods Memorial Cemetery on Hwy 17 South, Myrtle Beach, Horry County, South Carolina   [2, 7, 8]
  Person ID	I170016	Singleton and Related Families
  Last Modified	26 Dec 2015

  
  

  Father	Roosevelt Park “R.P.” OWENS,   b. 23 Dec 1902/1, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina d. 10 Sep 1979, Charleston, Charleston County, South Carolina (Age 67 years)
  Mother	Alberta REAMES,   b. 1 Jan 1909, Georgetown, South Carolina d. 9 Jul 1987, Florence Hospital, Florence, Florence County, South Carolina (Age 78 years)
  Marriage	11 Oct 1940	Florence, Florence County, South Carolina   [2, 4]
  	Magistrate of Florence, South Carolina Magistrate of Florence, South Carolina
  _UID	79E88226D1914226A775454419D9CCE319EA
  _UID	79E88226D1914226A775454419D9CCE319EA
  Family ID	F96796	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Sources

  [S23335] . [S6193] Interview with Lynda (Owens) Galiano. [S6215] Ashley P. Cox, Jr. - Cathryne Word Cox - Catherine Heniford Lewis, (Waccamaw Records Publication No. 15 - 1996). [S17992] Family Bible Alberta (Reames) Owens and Roosevelt Park Owens. [S17993] Driver Says That He Thought He Hit Dog. [S23338] . [S23337] . [S6215] Ashley P. Cox, Jr. - Cathryne Word Cox - Catherine Heniford Lewis, (Waccamaw Records Publication No. 15 - 1996), page 28.