Former Pole Vaulter Killed in Car Crash

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Former Pole Vaulter Killed in Car Crash

Unread postby rainbowgirl28 » Tue Dec 23, 2003 12:13 pm

http://www.wfaa.com/localnews/stories/1 ... b0b0e.html

Reunion ends in tragedy as Sanger teens die in crash
2 men were spending evening together after first semester at college


07:37 AM CST on Tuesday, December 23, 2003

By MATTHEW ZABEL / Denton Record-Chronicle

Two Sanger men died in a fiery one-vehicle accident Monday morning on Interstate 35 in north Denton.

David "Rowdy" Pursur, 19, and Phillip Thomas Layton, 19, both of Sanger, died in the accident about 1:55 a.m. Monday, according to Troy Taylor, investigator for the Tarrant County medical examiner.

Friends and family members said the two men had spent the evening together after their first semesters at college. Mr. Pursur attended North Central Texas College in Gainesville, and Mr. Layton attended Howard Payne University in Brownwood.

"He was a special gift to us; we just didn't get to keep him long enough," said Judy Carney Pursur, Mr. Pursur's mother.

His father, David Pursur, said his son was studying business. Rowdy Pursur also worked as a mechanic and at Pursur Auto Repair, his father's repair shop in Denton.

At Sanger High School, Mr. Pursur played football and tennis and competed in the pole vault, his father said. He also enjoyed hunting, fishing and drag racing.

Mr. Layton's family could not be reached for comment, but friends said he was spirited and athletic. He had come home for Christmas break, said Randy Miller, a close friend.

Mr. Miller said Layton enjoyed running cross country and playing baseball.

"Phillip was as close to me as a brother," Mr. Miller said. "Any time I had a problem, he was the first one I went to."

Denton police Capt. Joanie Housewright said the two were traveling east on FM1173 in a 1995 Trans Am, which Mr. Pursur was driving, when the vehicle did not stop at the stop sign at the I-35 southbound service road.

The car crossed the service road, the grassy embankment and the southbound lanes of I-35, Capt. Housewright said. It plowed through the concrete-barrier median and came to rest in the northbound lanes of I-35. The vehicle caught fire and was fully engulfed when emergency crews arrived. The accident is under investigation, Capt. Housewright said.

Mr. Taylor said the medical examiner would conduct toxicology texts on both men.

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