IRA BUD BUTCHER
THIRD MAN BADLY BURNED WILL RECOVER
Men Caught Under
Truck Roasted By
Flaming Gasoline
Another tragedy of the highways took its toll in the early morning
hours of Monday, August 19, 1940, when two men were literally
cremated following the wreck of a truck on the Garrett Highway
between Paintsville and Inez.
The tragedy took place at 2:00 a.m., Monday, August 19, 1940, on Lick
Branch Hill.
The occupants of the car were Ben Cavins, Jr., 22, Bud Butcher, 48,
and Burns Whitaker, 26, all of the White House section, and a small
boy who was riding with the men at the time.
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Cavins and Butcher Are
Fatally Burned
All Three of the men were burned, Cavins and Butcher fatally.
Following the accident the occupants of the truck were brought to
Paintsville for medical treatment. Cavins was taken to the
Paintsville Clinic where he died Monday afternoon, August 19, 1940.
Butcher and Whitaker were taken to the Golden Rule Hospital where
Butcher died shortly after midnight Tuesday morning, August 20, 1940.
It is not definitely known just how the accident happened, but it is
reported that the gasoline feed pipe to the carburetor became clogged
and to overcome this difficulty a hose was attached to the carburetor
and a 5 gallon can of gasoline placed on the floor of the truck.
When the machine wrecked the gasoline was spilled an ignited by
flames from the exhaust pipe.
When the truck wrecked Cavins and Butcher were caught by the truck.
Whitaker, owner and driver of the truck, was thrown clear and
received his burns in trying to extricate the other two men, who took
the full force of the flaming gasoline. The boy was not burned.
The three unfortunates were married men with families.
Butcher was a son of Morton Butcher, of Boons Camp section, Cavins
was a son of Ben Cavins, Sr., and Whitaker is a son of the late Henry
Whitaker of White House.
Fire from the gasoline raged for several minutes and every piece of
clothing was slowly burned from the bodies of Cavins and Butcher.
The bodies of the victims were taken to the Preston Funeral and
prepared for burial. They were taken to Two Mile where funeral and
burial took place Wednesday, August 21, 1940.
Paintsville Herald
Thursday
08-22-1940
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