Sheriff Herman K. Sewing, 52, was killed late Saturday night when pinned between the wreckage of an overturned auto and a heavy trailer truck on Highway 25 just south of the junction of Highway 25 and Highway 61 near Jackson.

On May 24, 1947 at approximately 11:00 pm, Sheriff Sewing and his deputy were providing aid four severely injured occupants of an overturned vehicle when the driver of a tractor trailer truck headed from St Louis to Memphis failed to see the sheriff's emergency lights. The truck driver set his brakes but skidded on the wet pavement pinning Sheriff Sewing between the truck and the wrecked car. Sheriff Sewing died from his injuries at the scene.

Sheriff Sewing had previously been elected to serve as a county judge for the second district in 1938. He ran unsuccessfully for sheriff in 1940 but was elected to serve as sheriff in 1944. He had also previously listed his occupation as a farmer. He was survived by his wife, three daughters and had lost one son in WWII. Interred: Trinity Lutheran Church Cemetery, Friedheim, MO.