It was 50 years ago this past Sunday to the date — Sunday, August 31, 1975 — when Danny & Shirley Turner of Blackstone drowned in a flash flood on Rt. 629 near Goodwin’s Lake (now Twin Lakes State Park) in Prince Edward County.
The Turners were 32-years-old and were beloved members of the community. They were very active in youth recreation, and Mrs. Turner taught Catechism at Blackstone Presbyterian Church.
The 1975 Labor Day weekend tragedy occurred shortly after 9:00 p.m. Sunday night as the Turners were returning home from a camping trip. It had been raining heavily in the area.
Riding with them were their three children, Sarah Belle, 16; Danny, 13; and Barbara, 10; and a family relative, James E. Kovach, 15.
State Police said that water covered the road at the bottom of a hill and, before Mr. Turner could stop, the car was being swept away in the darkness. Mr. and Mrs. Turner got the children out of the car as it began to sink. They became separated from each other but the four children appeared to have been swept away from the main stream — where they were able to cling to trees and where the depth and force of the water were not as great.
About an hour later, approximately 10:30 p.m., a park ranger heard cries for help and called rescue squads from Prince Edward, Nottoway, and Charlotte counties. Law enforcement and other rescuers were able to pull the four children to safety. Cries for help could still be heard from Mr. and Mrs. Turner, who had been swept farther away and into the center of the stream.
Crewe Emergency Squad launched a boat with three men aboard — E. B. Fisher, Billy Ragland, and park Ranger Ernest Barker. That boat capsized in the turbulence and those three men had to be rescued. Moments later the Turners’ cries for help were no longer heard. The tragedy shook this community.
Five years later, the Turners’ son, Danny, Jr., died in July 1980 after a motor vehicle crash on Kenbridge Road. Daughter Sarah Belle resides today in Massachusets, and youngest daughter “Bobbie” is a three-time cancer survivor living in Bumpass (Louisa County).
Community Devastated
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