Falmouth Enterprise, Friday, February 13, 1953, Page 2

Pocasset Athlete Seriously Injured in Bridge Crash

Gordon Gibbs, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Gibbs of County Road, Pocasset is in good spirits and resting comfortably at Tobey Hospital, his family reported today. Gordon, 18, a star athlete at Bourne high School, suffered a compound fracture of his left leg when he was struck by a car and driven under a sanding truck about 11 P.M. Sunday on the Bourne Bridge.

Mrs. Gibbs said her son probably will be in the hospital for several months. She said it is doubtful if he will be able to return to high school and complete his senior year. Gordon's brother, Stanley, 19, received minor bruises in the accident.

Both brothers were assisting in sanding the bridge after Sunday's snow. They had completed the grade on the Cape side of the bridge and had returned with a load of sand to the crest of the bridge. The driver of the sanding truck, Henry Robbins of Buzzards Bay, began raising the truck body. The Gibbs brothers went to the rear of the truck to begin shoveling the sand onto the roadway. Stanley climbed up on the truck to push the sand onto the road, while his brother scattered it;

Then there was a squealing of brakes and a car driven by Clyde Tripp of Onset crashed into Gordon and the rear of the truck. Stanley fell onto the hood of the car.

While police and an ambulance were summoned, Stanley improvised a tourniquet and tied it to his brother's leg.

Mr. Tripp did not see the truck and the boys until it was too late to stop, Bourne Police report. They are not certain yet if charges will be brought against him. The front end of the Tripp car was smashed. There was no damage to the truck.

Gordon is co-captain and center of the Bourne basketball team. A Boston radio station gave him an award last fall as highest scoring football lineman in the state. He is also on the Bourne high baseball team.