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Show ' mm BEAD 8? Ill MSI ' Mre. J. H. Singleton of American Ameri-can Fork Instantly Killed in Her Home. HUSBAND, SON AND FRIENDS RENDERED UNCONSCIOUS House Is Shaken to Its Foundations; Founda-tions; Severe Electric Storm. Special to Tho Tribune. AMERICAN FORK. -July 24. One of the worst electrical storms in the history his-tory of tho state broke over American Fork about 11 o'clock Friday night, and though intense in its fur- it nffected but a small area, the residence of John IL Singleton being apparently in a direct lino with its greatest violence. Within a vcr3 short time four distinct bolts struck tho Singleton home and its immediate locality. Mrs. Singleton being killed instautlv, while her husband, babies, Mr. Singleton's father and brother and J. E. Serrell, a friend who was going to their aid. were all struck and more or les3 injured. The Singleton home was shaken to its foundations, tho windows wore .broken and the neighborhood was given a general disturbing. dis-turbing. Jt was a cruel fate -which followed the Singleton family. .lust as the storm was at its worst, Mr. and Mrs. Singleton Single-ton were purring thoir children to bed for the night. The mother and father had just tucked their little 4-j'ear-old son into bed and had gone into an ad' joining room to nut the baby to sleep. Mr. Singleton started to" go back to the room where his little son was, when the first bolt came, crashing through a pane of glass in the door and striking him in the back. Ho was rendered unconscious un-conscious and was thrown directly back into tho room where his wife was. In a short time Mrs. Singleton managed to revive- him, and together they started to tho other bedroom to see if the boy there had been injured. They found the little fellow jammed up in a corner of the .bed, he also being in an unconscious un-conscious condition. The father picked hnn up and carried him into a rear room, where thcv get to work to revive him. Mr. Singleton asked his wife to open an cast window iu order that thcv might; have a Iittlo movo fresh air foV the benefit of their son. and the lady had just raisod the window when she was struck by a boll of lightning and instantly killed, she being thrown back tfn top of her husband, who still had the little boy in his arms. It is thought that the bolt which killed Mrs. Singleton Single-ton followed tho electric light cord into the room. Three Are Struck Down. Withoutfully realizing that his wife was dead, Mr. Singleton started for help, and got; his father, Thomas, and Ins brother. Del. and Mr. Serrell. to return re-turn to his homo with him. On tho return re-turn trip, a Janteru which the brother, Del, was carrying, was struck and smashed to atoms, the gentleman himself him-self being badly stunned. Mr. Sen ell was also struck and knocked down, though ho was not seriously hurt. The father now started for a telephone, and he had not gone far before he was knocked unconscious bv a bolt which struck in a mud puddle'directlv in front of him. lie was covered with a thick coating of mud from heels to head. A physician was finally summoned and he gave what aid he could to the sufferers, suffer-ers, though Mrs. Singleton was bevond all human help. While at tho Singleton home, the doctor, doc-tor, hearing a splashing and floundering flounder-ing in the pools of rain water in lho yard, went out and found that a mountain moun-tain trout, about a foot in length, was causing the commotion. Tho fish must have dropped from the clouds with tho deluge of rain, for the Singleton home stands high and dry and a long distance away from any water supply. Tho supposition sup-position is that by a peculiar freak of nature the trout was picked up out of a stream or lake, carried into the air and later dropped where- found. It was in a very lively state when picked up. The storm put the electric light plant and tolephono companies out of commission, com-mission, and caused more or less inconvenience in-convenience throughout the city. |