Posted: 11/24/03
Bus crash claims another life
By Ken Camp
Texas Baptist Communications
ELDORADO–The Louisiana bus crash that killed five members of First Baptist Church in Eldorado and three of their friends last month has claimed another life.
Billy Frank Blaylock, 78, died Nov. 17 at a San Angelo hospital from injuries sustained when the church-owned bus ran into a parked tractor-trailer rig near Tallulah, La., Oct. 13.
After the wreck, Blaylock spent about two weeks in a Jackson, Miss., hospital before being flown to San Angelo's Shannon Medical Center.
His wife, Mabel Blaylock, also was injured in the bus wreck, sustaining numerous broken bones and a punctured lung. After an extended stay at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in Shreveport, she remains hospitalized at the Schleicher County Medical Center in Eldorado.
Blaylock was a World War II veteran who lost a leg in the battle of Iwo Jima. He was a retired rancher, saddle-maker and mail carrier, a deacon at First Baptist Church of Eldorado and a Boy Scout leader.
“More people considered Billy Frank Blaylock their hero than any other person I've ever met,” said Andy Anderson, pastor of First Baptist Church.
During Blaylock's 33 years as a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service, he kept a Bible on the front seat and memorized a verse of Scripture every day, Anderson noted.
“He could recite huge sections of the Bible from memory,” the pastor said. “One time in a Sunday School class discussion, the teacher asked the class how they would define wisdom. And one of the men said, 'Billy Frank Blaylock.'”
Other members of First Baptist Church killed in the Louisiana bus wreck were Kennith and Betty Richardson, both 81; Delia Piña, 72, and Domingo Piña, 65; and Mary Ruth Robinson, 63. Three others lost their lives: Jean Demere, 74, and Jimmy Teel, 68, of Water Valley and Laverne Shannon, 76, of San Angelo.
Ken Thomas, 66, treasurer and past chairman of deacons at First Baptist Church in Eldorado, was driving the bus at the time of the wreck. He received a misdemeanor citation for careless operation.
No criminal charges have been filed. The trucking company that owned the 18-wheeler involved in the wreck has initiated a civil lawsuit.
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration assessed a $2,200 fine against First Baptist Church of Eldorado for failure to comply with some of that agency's regulations. The agency regulates vehicles carrying more than 15 passengers across state lines.
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