This is a Message Board Post that is gatewayed to this mailing list. Classification: Death Message Board URL: http://boards.ancestry.com/mbexec/msg/rw/JW.2ADE/8489 Message Board Post: Joe Bellotti Fatally Hurt When Speeder Hits Truck Joseph Andrew Bellatti, 51, of 15945 N Street, Mojave, passed away in Mojave Hospital early Sunday morning following fatal injuries sustained in an auto accident Thursday afternoon, May 15, 1958. According to the California Hwy. Patrol. Bellatti was driving a State Highway pickup truck following a grader, going south on Highway 6 when his truck was rammed into by a convertible driven by Willie James Hopper, 34, of Los Angeles and the impact knocked the pickup over 20 feet, throwing Joe out and the truck rolled over him. CHP Officer Kenneth De Lamarr was chasing the speeding convertible at the time of the crash which occured 21.2 miles north of Rosamond. Zooming along at a speed estimated at close to 90 miles an hour the Hopper vehicle attempted to pass the pickup and road grader but another car coming in the opposite direction forced him to pull back and he crashed into the pickup, knocking it off the road. Mojave Ambulance Service brought the injured people to Mojave Hospital including two passengers in the Hopper car, Lucille Brown and Bernice James of Los Angeles who were seriously injured according to reliable sources. Bellatti was given several transfusions from as many donors and it was thought for a time that he would rally, so needed surgery could be performed. His injuries were too grave, however, and he died in spite of all that could be done. Survivors include his widow Margaret, two sons, Charles and Stanley. Joe was well known here and was employed by the State Highway Department as a foreman. He and his family had resided in Mojave for the past 14 years and his passing will be felt by many friends as well as his immediate family. Services in charge of Turner Funeral Home were held on Wednesday' May 21, 1958 at 2:00 p.m. in the Amaranth Temple. Officiating were Mojave Masonic Lodge, D.D. George W. Bennett, Master and Rev. James Thompson with an attendance of well over 200 friends and relatives. Interment was in Forest Lawn Cemetery, San Jose, California. Posted by East Kern Genealogical Society Courtesy of Mojave Desert News California City, Kern, CA Published: 22 May 1958 Hold Willie Hopper For Manslaughter Willie James Hopper, 34, was bound over to Superior Court after his preliminary hearing in Municipal Judge Doyle Miller's court on Tuesday of this week. It was decided at the hearing that there was probably cause for the Manslaughter charges. This is standard State procedure and at his hearing in Superior Court he will have a chance to plead guilty or not guilty and demand a jury trial. He was counseled by his attorney from Los Angeles. The District Attorneys office has 15 days to file on the Superior Court hearing. The charges grew out of the traffic death of Joseph A. Bellatti who died of injuries allegedly caused by the defendant, Willie James Hopper, who crashed into his pickup truck. Posted by East Kern Genealogical Society Courtesy of Mojave Desert News California City, Kern, CA Published: 12 Jun 1958