Ralph Harlon Fisher '61
     
(Note: I could not locate an obituary, but did find these two articles)

Man and dog killed in wreck traveled everywhere together

Thursday, April 27, 2017

A man who died in a car wreck Tuesday evening always traveled with his little Chihuahua, Peppy.

Ralph Harlon Fisher, 75, of Bells Fork Road, died in a wreck on Southwest Greenville Boulevard near Rollins Drive after the Ford Mustang he was driving crashed into the back of a small black passenger bus.

Police said Fisher lost control of his vehicle, and his car slammed sideways into the bus, with the driver’s side making contact. He died on scene. Peppy also died in the wreck.

“He called Peppy his traveling buddy,” said Fisher’s wife, Doris Fisher. “He took Peppy everywhere. Peppy slept with his head on Ralph’s shoulder.”

Ralph Fisher was driving a 1972 Mach 1 Mustang that he had just gotten back on the road after rebuilding its engine, she said.

“That was his pride and joy,” she said. “He was a car enthusiast.”

Ralph Fisher was retired from an HVAC business he and his wife owned in Ellicott, Md., called Automatic Control Inc.

In the 1980s, he obtained three patents for HVAC systems that included an air conditioner, a heater and a hot water heater, Doris Fisher said.

“He was building these systems and putting them in, in the Washington, D.C., area,” she said.

After he retired, the couple moved to Greenville, which was close to her hometown of Fountain. They purchased their home on Bells Fork Road nearly 12 years ago, she said.

Ralph Fisher was born in Alabama. He is survived by two daughters, three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren who live in Virginia.

The wreck occurred just before 7 p.m. and was spotted by a Greenville Fire-Rescue crew that was pulling out of Rollins Drive a few moments after the wreck.

Police believe that speed likely was a contributing factor in the wreck. The driver of the bus, Albert Dixon Jr., of Farmville, and the only passenger in the bus, Dantriel Woodland of Greenville, were not injured in the wreck.

Investigation of fatal crash ends, Dixon charged (May 24, 2017)

The Greenville Police Department’s Traffic Safety Unit has ended the investigation of a deadly crash that killed a 75-year-old Greenville man and his dog in April.

On Thursday, Albert Dixon Jr., 72, of Farmville was charged with misdemeanor death by motor vehicle. At a meeting at the magistrate's office, Dixon was given an unsecured bond and is scheduled to meet in court on July 18.

Greenville Police responded to the report of a crash on Greenville Boulevard near Rollins Drive just before 7 p.m. on April 25. The crash, involving a car and a bus, was reported and upon arrival, first responders located Ralph Harlon Fisher, 75, of Greenville who was deceased. His dog died later from traumatic injuries, according to a GPD press release.

The investigation concluded that the driver of the small black passenger bus, Dixon, made his way out of Rollins Drive onto Greenville Boulevard where he turned in front of the yellow Ford Mustang Fisher was driving. Fisher, unable to switch lanes due to passing vehicles, applied the brakes, skid and collided with the back of Dixon’s bus. It was estimated that Fisher's car was going roughly 68 miles per hour at the moment the bus pulled in front of him.

During the preliminary investigation, it was found that Fisher was traveling west in his yellow Ford Mustang on Mach 1. Fisher lost control of the car and collided with the back right corner of a small black passenger bus.

Neither Dixon, or the only passenger on the bus, Dantriel Woodland of Greenville were injured in the incident.

Kristen Hunter, public information officer for Greenville Police, said the accident also caused traffic to be rerouted.

“It was a pretty detailed crash investigation, it shut down the road for approximately three and half hours,” said Hunter. “Traffic was shut down in both directions and was diverted through other side streets during that time.”