Family, Friends Remember Those Killed in Crash
By: Michael Pickett
Updated: December 31, 2012
Homer and Lela Meriwether died in their bedroom after a truck driven by Thomas Hodgson crashed into their house. Hodgson also died at the scene. Pastor Steve Beutler of Methodist Temple knew the Meriwethers since he became pastor about two years ago. He says they helped anyone they could. Some parishoners even considered them family.
"One person came up to me, an older man in his 40s, and said,' They were my parents. I didn't know my parents, but they were my parents,'" he says.
Shawn Burden was one of Thomas's best friends. He described him as a father figure to his family.
"He thought the world of them," he says. "He was so proud of them, where they came from. He meant a real lot."
Evansville Police are still trying to piece together what exactly happened to cause Hodgson to go off the road.


