Donna Cyphers Manno

Donna Cyphers Manno
(Mrs. Vincent Manno)

The following unidentified newspaper articles were found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:

Surviving are her husband Vincent; three daughters, Diane, Pamela and Deborah; her mother, Mrs. Charlotte Cyphers; and one brother, Francis Cyphers of Clarendon Hills, Ill.

She was a native of Shelby.

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The following unidentified newspaper article was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:

Lowell, Shelby Women Victims

Nab Young Driver Who Fled Fatal Crash Near Calumet City

Driver of the car, James Sims, 18, of 1225 Fifth St., Chicago Heights, fled the scene but was overtaken after a 3 ½ mile chase police said.

Dead are Mrs. Donna Manno, 35, Shelby, and Mrs. Kathleen Gault, 47, of Lowell. Mrs. Manno's husband Vincent, 35, was injured but was later released from Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey.

THE ACCIDENT occurred a half-mile south of 147th St., just west of Calumet City.

Sims' auto was chased by a Gary man, Richard Sanders, of 2339 Tennessee St. The fleeing car turned into the Shaboona Woods forest preserve at 159th St. and Torrence Ave.

According to sheriff's police, Sims said the accident occurred after his brakes failed to hold after he passed another car. He said he was unable to stop after the collision.

Sheriff's police are holding him on an open charge pending the outcome of an inquest set for 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in De Young's funeral home at South Holland.

NOTE -- Different articles listed Mrs. Manno's age when she died as 31 or 35.

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Community Mourns Death of Two Prominent Women

Mrs. Gault, manager of the Foster Music Company's Lowell Studio, was accompanying Mr. and Mrs. Manno to the home of Mrs. Manno's brother, Francis, at Clairidon Hills, Ill., where they were to pick up an organ for the Mannos' 11year old daughter, Dianne, interested in learning to play.

At 1:30 p.m. Vincent was driving his panel truck along the Calumet Expressway and when about a mile north of U.S. 6, was rammed from the rear by a car which fled the scene. Mrs. Gault, thrown from the truck in the initial impact, was killed instantly when her head struck against a roadside piling. Mr. Manno was thrown through the rear doors, escaping with minor injuries, and his wife, also hurled from the wreckage, died in his arms five minutes later.

The cause of this tragedy is an 18-year-old Negro youth, James Sims of 1225 Fifth Ave., Chicago Heights. He left the scene but was pursued and overtaken by a Gary man and his wife, the Richard Sanders, who reported to police that Sims and his two Nergo companions had turned into the Shabonna Woods forest preserve at 159th and Torrence Ave.

Both women were retained at the DeYoung funeral home, South Holland, Ill., for inquest held Tuesday morning. The coroner's recommendation to the Grand Jury was that the youth be held on two charges of reckless homicide. Sims was turned over to the Cook county sheriff's police.

The following newspaper article, hand-identified as being from the Oct. 29, 1954, issue of the Star, was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:

2 Area Women Killed Sunday in Expressway Auto Truck Accident

Grief Widespread in South County for Mrs. Gault, Mrs. Vincent Manno

Services for Mrs. Gault, 47, were conducted by Rev. E.L. Worley and Loren Holt, pastor of Lowell Church of Christ, in Sheets chapel Wednesday afternoon. A member of the church, she was a lifelong resident of Lowell, home of her husband, their daughters, Barbara and Kathleen, her mother, Mrs. Marie Miller and brother Lewis.

Graveside services were held in Lowell cemetery.

Rev. John Woods officiated in Shelby Catholic church Thursday morning at 10 o'clock for the services that marked the passing of Mrs. Manno, 31. Born in Shelby, Mrs. Manno leaves, with her husband, three daughters, Diane, Pamela and Deborah; her mother, Mrs. Charlotte Cyphers; and a brother Francis in Clarendon Hills, Illinois.

St. Edward's cemetery in Lowell was the place of burial.

The hit-and-run motorist, identified as James Simms, 18, of Chicago Heights, Illinois, was arrested near there shortly after he was chased and overtaken by a Gary man, Richard Sanders, who was driving on the expressway with Mrs. Sanders. Simms was overtaken, according to report, as he turned into the forest preserve at 159th and Torrence Avenue. Two other men in his car were also held by the police for questioning.

Mr. and Mrs. Manno, according to local report, were going to into Illinois to see an advertised organ and had taken Mrs. Gault, a musician, with them so that she might judge the quality of the instrument. Both women were fatally injured when they were hurled from the truck by the impact of the crash.

Vincent is a brother of Vito Manno, 216 North Main, Crown Point, who is a deputy under Sheriff Jack West.

The following unidentified newspaper article was found in a scrapbook owned by Town Historian Richard Schmal:

Highway Killer Draws 1-5 Year Sentence

In sentencing the youth, Judge Leslie Salter remarked, "He might just as well have taken a gun and shot at motorists passing in the expressway. This is a clear case of recklessness causing the deaths of two women."

Witnesses testified that Sims was driving 75 to 80 miles an hour, weaving in and out of traffic and cutting off other cars, just before he rammed the rear of Vincent Manno's panel truck. The accident occurred October 24, on the Calumet expressway, a mile south of 147th street. Sims, thinking someone had been hurt, fled the scene of the accident and was caught after a four mile chase by other motorists, who saw him race away. Sims did not have insurance.

Last updated on February 21, 2007.

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