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Miller, Merle (1963-2007)
Mennonite Weekly Review obituary: 2007 May 7 p. 3
Birth date: 1963
text of obituary:
By Mennonite Weekly Review staff
BRISTOL, Ind. — Five Amish men being driven to a construction job were killed in a chain-reaction crash on the Indiana Toll Road April 26. Three others also died in the early-morning crash.
The deaths of the five men shocked the large Amish community of northern Indiana. Neighbors pitched in to help the affected families with spring field work and other chores.
Killed were Samuel Yoder, 46, an Amish farmer and carpenter, and his 17-year-old son, Anthony, both of Wolcottville; Merle Miller, 44, of Ligonier; Lester E. Yoder, 36, of Topeka; and Vernan H. Miller, 38, of Wolcottville.
All came from the same Amish church district in Elkhart County.
Also killed in the crash were Douglas and Mary Helen George of Springfield, N.H., and Mark Repp of Sturgis, Mich.
The crash occurred when a semi driven by Leonardo Cooksey rear-ended the pickup carrying the five Amish men to a construction job near the Indiana-Michigan border, according to the Chicago Tribune. Cooksey, 31, of Mount Prospect, Ill., was not injured.
This crash set off other collisions in adjacent lanes. In all, seven vehicles, including three semis, two pickups and two cars, were involved, according to the South Bend Tribune.