By Billy Davis
A mother and her daughter who died together in a Memorial Day automobile accident will be remembered today at First Baptist Church in Batesville.

Juanita Hall, 80, of Sarah and Sheila Douglas, 61, of Batesville were killed on an Illinois interstate when their SUV was struck from behind by a tractor-trailer.   

A family friend, Doris Mayo, 68, was also killed in the wreck while SUV driver Deborah Faust of Sardis, also daughter of Juanita Hall, was critically injured.

The women were traveling to Illinois’ Amish country, the AP reported.  

The funeral service for Hall and Douglas is set for 2 p.m. today in Batesville, with burial at Longtown Cemetery.

Funeral arrangements for Mayo, also of Sarah, were set for 10 a.m. Saturday at Kimbro Funeral Home in Marks.

Visitation for Mayo is tonight at Kimbro from 6 to 8.

Douglas is a former administrative assistant at Copiah-Lincoln Community College and was a member of Shady Grove Baptist Church, and a leader in Explorer’s Bible Study. She is survived by her sons Tim Douglas and Chris Douglas, both of Batesville, among other survivors.

Hall, of Sarah, had retired from the Dana Corporation in Crenshaw. She was a member of Hollywood Baptist Church in Sledge and attended the Explorer’s Bible Study in Batesville.

Local survivors of Hall, in addition to her daughter, Deborah Faust, include a son, Jody Hall of Sarah, and her sisters Kaye Ritter of Batesville and Joanne Chapman of Crenshaw.

Mayo, who was also from Sarah, attended Hollywood Baptist Church. Additional obituary information for Mayo was incomplete at press time Thursday.

The four women were traveling on Interstate 57 in central Illinois, near Mattoon, when they slowed for a construction project.

Illinois media identified Everett Van Duzee, of Louisiana, as the driver of the semi-truck. He was distracted by a road map when he struck Faust’s SUV, setting it on fire, according to authorities.

Nine automobiles were involved in the collision that ensued, killing three people – Hall, Douglas and Mayo – and injuring 13 others, including Faust.

The women died within seconds of the collision from traumatic injuries, not from burns, a coroner told The News-Gazette newspaper.

Authorities investigating the scene believed that Van Duzee struck Faust’s SUV first, though a second SUV, a Chevrolet Equinox, was also crushed by the collision.  

State troopers on the scene had “no hope” that anyone survived in the Equinox, but an 11-year-old girl crawled out of the wreckage, according to press reports.  

Authorities ruled out alcohol or drugs as the cause of the collision, saying Van Duzee had simply looked away.

In Illinois, May 31 was the last day of Driver Distraction Month, said a state trooper.

For complete obituary information on Douglas and Hall, see page A2.