The driver, Harry Matthew “Matt” Hymes II, 82, and passenger, Sarah Downes, 65, were pronounced dead at the scene, according to investigating officer Cpl. Darin Hissam with the Buckhannon Police Department.

Minutes earlier, at approximately 7:15 p.m., Hymes was traveling south on Childers Run to cross over to Route 151 and pulled into the path of a freightliner tractor-trailer traveling east on Route 33 in the right-hand lane.

The tractor-trailer driven by Benjamin Carl Ellis III, 37, of Spring, Texas, collided with the passenger side of the Chevy Cobalt, according to chief Matt Gregory. Hymes and Downes were not ejected and were wearing seatbelts.

The Cobalt landed on its top adjacent to Route 33 where it intersects with Childers Run going up the hill to Route 151, according to Gregory.

Hymes

The tractor-trailer was owned by Jacksonville, Fla.-based Landstar, although the tractor-trailer was registered in Indiana. Ellis was taken to St. Joseph’s Hospital to be checked out, according to Gregory.

Hymes was at fault in the wreck, officials said.

Hissam was assisted at the scene by Patrolman Tanner Collins, the Buckhannon Fire Department, the Ellamore Volunteer Fire Department, the Warren District Volunteer Fire Department and Upshur County EMS.

The Childers Run intersection has been the site of at least two fatalities in Gregory’s experience and numerous wrecks occur on Route 33 east between Buckhannon and the Kesling Mill intersection.

“Kesling Mill is just as, if not more, dangerous because there have been a number of accidents there over the years,” he said.

Downes

Gregory said, “I think it needs to be continuously evaluated. I know the DOH monitors certain intersections. I know that is ultimately what led to the decision of placing a traffic light at Brushy Fork because it was an incredibly dangerous intersection prior to the installation of the traffic light out there. That came as a result of evaluating the circumstances on an ongoing basis.”

Hymes and Downes, both active members of the Buckhannon Lions Club, were returning from a Lions Club dinner meeting at Zick’s Restaurant when the wreck occurred. On Friday, its members in the small close-knit organization remembered their friends and their commitment to the club.

Club president Gary Frush said, “Sarah has risen through the ranks of the club and served as president twice. She would have been the second vice president starting in July.

“Matt never wanted to be in a high position but he has been a member of the board of directors and served as Lion Tamer,” Frush said. “Lion Tamers take care of the club’s paraphernalia and see that the flags and banners are put out when we have meetings.”

But Hymes had taken on another project in the club and chaired the annual Easter egg hunt held at Buckhannon City Park for years.

“He told us last night, he had already bought all the jelly beans to fill the eggs,” Frush said.

Hymes was the longest-serving active member in the club and Downes had been a member for probably close to 20 years, according to Frush.

“They both were very active members and participated in all of our events when we had club activities,” he said. “We will surely miss them.”

Hank Ellis, second vice president of the Buckhannon Lions Club, said Downes had twice served as president of the organization and had become a regular representative of the club at the semi-annual state Lions Club conferences.

“She was always our annual liaison to go to the annual Lions Club convention and conferences to keep us up to speed on any changes and any new ideas that the Lions were focusing on,” he said. “She hadn’t missed an annual meeting probably for the last 15 years.”

Both Hymes and Downes were parishioners at First United Methodist Church and Downes sang in the choir there as well as in the Buckhannon Choral Society.

Hymes was a graduate of Buckhannon-Upshur High School, West Virginia Wesleyan College and West Virginia University School of Law and a military veteran. He was a longtime law partner with Coleman & Wallace, served as assistant city attorney and had been municipal judge, according to Mayor David McCauley.

Hymes was a former adjunct instructor at West Virginia Wesleyan College and could be found on the tennis courts there.

In recent years, McCauley said Hymes had volunteered as a tennis coach with the B-UHS tennis team.

“Matt supported all things involving the children of our community,” he said. “All of us at city hall and our city organization are devastated with his loss and we grieve Matt’s passing with his family, friends and all of us who dearly loved him.”

Gregory said, “I knew Matt for the bulk of my career and he was a gentleman and a professional. He will be sadly missed.”

Lions Club secretary Ben Crutchfield added, “They were both very faithful members. When I heard the word, I thought there must be some mistake — that it can’t be happening.”