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Note: Melanie Grace was born in Good Samaritan Hospital, Phoenix, Arizona on Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
Arizona Republic, February 16, 1977 Section C 5 or 8
TEENAGER DIES WHEN PICKUP FLIPS IN FIELD A 14 year old Phoenix girl was killed when a pickup in which she was riding overturned, police said Tuesday. Melanie Edwards daughter of Mrs. Marjorie Edwards of 2612 N. 48th Dr., was riding Monday night in a pickup driven by Craig A. Beyer, 17 of 4923 W. Avalon Dr., patrolman Richard Stromalt said. He said Beyer was driving along a private road near 55th Avenue and Van Buren and made a sharp turn into a field. The vehicle rolled on its top and Miss Edwards was thrown partly out of the truck. Beyer's sister Natalie 16, also a passenger in the truck was injured and taken to Phoenix General Hospital where she was in fair condition Tuesday. Beyer was uninjured.
MELANIE EDWARDS Services for Melanie Grace Edwards 14, a freshman at Maryvale High School will be at 10:00 A.M., Thursday in A. L. Moore & Sons Mortuary 333 W. Adams. Melanie, 2612 N. 48th Drive, who was born in Phoenix and was graduated from Frank Borman Junior High School died in Maryvale Samaritan Hospital. Survivors include her mother Marjorie Edwards, father Melvin H. Edwards; three brothers and three grandparents.
The story in the paper was not totally correct, think this must have been what Craig Beyers told the officer. An investigator came to my home shortly after Melanie's death (also sent me a copy of the police report); he informed me that there was a witness who related the whole event. Craig was supposed to be bringing Melanie home from his house where she was visiting his sister Natalie as they were good friends. They lived just north of Thomas Road and we lived just a couple of blocks south of Thomas Rd., would only have taken five minutes to bring her home. Instead he took her and his sister Natalie out to the White Tanks at 55th Ave. and Madison. This is where the tankers fuel. The whole area was very muddy as it had been raining a lot in recent days. Craig was out there for approximately 30 minutes doing brodies. This is where a person goes real fast and turns the steering wheel sharply one way and then the other. He was going back and forth over this open field doing this for the entire 30 minutes. There were deep ruts in the ground from the tankers fueling. During one of the brodies he hit a rut and the air went out of the tire of the pickup truck he was driving and the pickup rolled over. When the pickup was in the process of rolling over Natalie was thrown clear of the truck but Melanie, who was in the middle, her blouse sleeve caught on the door latch and she was held there while the pickup rolled over on her completely crushing her skull. It took the police and firemen together to roll the pickup over to get to her. She was already dead even though they life saving techniques. When she arrived at Maryvale Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, an nuerosurgeon who happened to be there said her brain was like jelly and if she had lived she would have been a total vegetable. The Beyer family, when I went to their house the next day, told me a completely different story, or rather Mrs. Beyer did, which was a total fabrication. Natalie was in the hospital for quite a while as she had a bad injury to one leg. Craig who probably held on to the steering wheel was not thrown from the pickup and did not receive even a scratch. The investigator wanted me to bring a civil suit against Craig Beyer for vehicular manslaughter as the authorities were unable to as the accident occurred on private property. He said they would help me if I chose to do so. I told him I would not do this.
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