Brian Peach
Daily Egyptian
An SIUC honor student who was going to graduate in less than two weeks was killed Wednesday after police say he lost control of his pickup truck and crashed into a tree while driving home to Grantsburg.
The single-vehicle accident involving Chad Burnett Newberry, a senior in radiologic sciences, took place shortly after midnight. Police told Newberry's family that he misjudged a sharp turn and ran off Boskydell Road.
The Jackson County Sheriff's Department said in a press release that Newberry was the only passenger in the 1997 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck. Deputies found the vehicle turned on its side near Boskydell and Wagon Wheel roads.
Police said Newberry lost control of his truck when he drove it up a small hill. The truck then crashed through a fence and flew over a creek before striking the creek's bank and a nearby tree.
Police say Newberry was not wearing a seat belt when his vehicle flipped onto its left side and partially ejected him from the truck. He was pinned between the ground and the left front side of his pickup.
Newberry lived at home during his final semester at SIUC. He was specializing in radiation/oncology.
"He wanted to help people with cancer," said Linda Burnam, Newberry's aunt.
As valedictorian of his junior high and at Vienna High School, Newberry was always at the top of his class. He had family members in Carbondale who helped him celebrate his 23rd birthday on Saturday and who also helped send off his older brother, Casey, to the Navy last week.
Newberry was taken from the accident scene to the morgue at Carbondale Memorial Hospital. The funeral director told his family the cause of death was blunt head trauma. His mother, Joellen, his father, Ron, and his brother are preparing for Newberry's funeral, which is scheduled for 1 p.m. Friday at Bailey's Funeral Home in Vienna.
"He was a wonderful person, and he'll be missed," Burnam said.
Reporter Brian Peach can be reached at bpeach@dailyegyptian.com
Published on 11/17/05; 12:24:44 PM
