Community Corner

Ballwin Man Discusses Mother's Hit-and-Run Death

Ron Kimbrough of Ballwin said the crash that killed his mother made him angry, but said he was taught growing up to focus on life's positives.

Ballwin resident Ron Kimbrough told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the car crash that killed his mother last month will impact the rest of his life.

"I had to make a cross (for a roadside memorial) for my mother on my 45th birthday, so that's a birthday I won't forget," Kimbrough said in the Post-Dispatch article.

Police said the crash occurred Thursday, Jan. 26, at Clayton Road and Woods Hill Drive. Ciby Kimbrough, 70, of North St. Louis County died from injuries she suffered in that crash, but police said the driver who struck Kimbrough fled the scene. George Putney, 52, who resides in the 1300 block of Forest Lane just east of Ballwin, was and held on a $15,000 bond.

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Ron Kimbrough also told the newspaper that his mother was an educator and a civil rights activist who picketed segregated movie theaters in Knoxville, TN in 1963 after growing up in a diversified family in Tilden, AL.

"A lot of her friends died fighting for what they believed in," he said. "Instead of focusing on their trials and tribulations, she taught me to focus on the opportunities that came out of it and to do something with them."

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According to court records, Putney posted his $15,000 cash bond on Feb. 2. A hearing is scheduled in Putney's trial for 9 a.m. on March 1.

To read the complete St. Louis Post-Dispatch article, .


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