As indirect result of a tornado which swept an area 350 yards wide and two miles long near Four Oaks Saturday afternoon, Hubert A. Allen, 18-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. E.G. Allen of Banner Township, died instantly at 11:30 o’clock Saturday night, with a broken neck and crushed chest.
The storm, which arose about 3 o’clock Saturday afternoon, wrought havoc in the woods, blowing a huge long leaf pine across the road about a mile of Blackman’s Cross Roads and 2 ½ miles from Four Oaks. Travelers who passed that way in the late afternoon and early evening drove around the obstruction, but young Hubert Allen, returning home about 11:30 that night, failed to see it until too late. Persons in the road signaled the boy to go around, but misunderstanding them, and thinking perhaps, that they were hold-up men, the young man increased his speed, heading straight down the road. Walter Dunn, a friend who was accompanying Mr. Allen home, says the driver saw the log just before the car struck it, and cried out, but the next instant the crash came, the impact hurling the two young men back ward. Mr. Dunn was only slightly injured, but Mr. Allen died instantly with a broken neck and crushed chest.
Mr. Allen had been to call on a young lady, Miss Moore, whom he expected to marry on the following day.
The funeral was held from the home of the parents of the deceased, at 3:30 Sunday afternoon and was conducted by Rev. Mr. Lee of the Baptist church. There were about 750 people present.
Young Mr. Allen was well-liked and respected as one of the finest young men in his community. Mr. J.R. Allen, who gave The Herald the particulars of the unfortunate accident, declared there was mush sorrow among his friends and relatives at his passing.
From the front page of The Smithfield Herald, Tuesday morning, July 14, 1925
newspapers.digitalnc.org/lccn/sn92073982/1925-07-14/ed-1/seq-1/
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