|
Bowers Children
 |
|
|
Apela Bowers
- 6 years old
&
Luksi Bowers - 5 years old
|
|
Died in a car crash
The girls, along with their father, Kenneth Bowers, 33, were killed in a domestic feud that turned into a fatal wreck. The day they died, their father was driving his ex-wife, Elizabeth Allen, 35, home from the county court clerk's office. Bowers had driven his ex-wife in her vehicle along with his three daughters so she could file a victim's protection order against her current husband, Randy Dean Allen, 33. She had already filed for divorce and after receiving threatening phone calls from Allen decided to obtain the protection order on advice from her attorney.
Police think Randy Allen, a stock car racer, was waiting for his wife in a full-size pickup outside her home when Bowers drove up with her. Allen, obsessed with finding out if his wife was having an affair gave chase. The high speed chase topped 60 mph through the area.
The Bowers girls were riding in the back seat and Elizabeth Allen was in the front seat of her vehicle when the pickup bumped it from behind and into the path of oncoming traffic.
A westbound pickup hit the eastbound vehicle, and Luksi and Apela were ejected.
Masheli, their 2-year-old sister was in a car seat and was not thrown out. Masheli's left leg remains in a cast. Doctors do not know if the multiple fractures in the leg are healing correctly. She may need physical therapy.
"She was very fortunate that was all that happened to her. She is very lucky," Una Brown, the girls' mother said. She is haunted by the memories of the wreck. "She knows exactly what happened. She said her sisters were crying, and she was scared. She said, 'That man hit us,'" Brown said.
Allen, who was driving with a suspended license, confessed to bumping the sports utility vehicle. However, he said he was only trying to see who was in the vehicle with his wife.
After the collision, he parked the pickup and waited for police. Witnesses said Allen was very calm after the accident.
Elizabeth Allen received broken ribs and a cracked pelvis.
Allen was found guilty of three counts of second-degree murder and was sentenced to 30 years on each count. In 1985, he was convicted of manslaughter in another traffic-related death.
During the trial the jury was shown a videotape of Allen's interview with police which was conducted hours after he was arrested.
While interviewed Allen said the crashes with his wife's car were accidental.
"It was just high speed chaos," Allen said. "He's doing stuff; I'm doing stuff. When we bumped, he was OK."
Bowers was driving Elizabeth Allen's car. The former race car driver said Bowers applied his brakes twice, causing two collisions. He said that caused Bowers to swerve into oncoming traffic and hit a pickup.
The collision ripped open Elizabeth Allen's 1992 Jeep Cherokee, ejecting Bowers' two oldest daughters. No one in the Cherokee was wearing seat belts.
But Allen's statement to police contradicted eyewitness accounts. In earlier testimony, two witnesses to the crash said they didn't see brake lights flash on either vehicle in the chase, which at times exceeded 60 mph.
Allen later admitted to police that the collisions with Bowers were intentional.
"I don't know why I did it," Allen said. "I just wanted to see who was in the Jeep. I was trying to get him to stop. He was driving crazier than I was."
"All Mr. Allen could tell for sure was that Liz Allen was in the Jeep and that she was a passenger," the prosecutor told the jury "Mr. Allen was convinced that he had caught her with another man. He was obsessed with the idea that his wife was cheating on him."
Elizabeth Allen denied having an affair with Bowers.
"Angels
Among Us"
I was walking home from school on a cold winter day,
took a shortcut through the woods and I lost my way.
It was getting late and I was scared and alone,
but then a kind old man took my hand and led me home.
My momma couldn't see him,
oh but he was standing there
and I knew in my heart
he was the answer to my prayers.
Oh, I believe there are angels among us
sent down to us from somewhere up above
they come to you and me in our darkest hours
to show us how to live
to teach us how to give
to guide us with the light of love
When life held troubled time
and had me down on my knees
there's always been someone
to come along and comfort me
a kind word from a stranger
to lend a helping hand
a phone call from a friend
just to say I understand
And ain't it kinda funny at the dark end of the road
that someone lights the way with just a single ray of hope
Oh, I believe there are angels among us
sent down to us from somewhere up above
they come to you and me in our darkest hours
to show us how to live
to teach us how to give
to guide us with the light of love.
They wear so many faces
show up in the strangest places
to grace us with their mercy
in our time of need.
Oh, I believe there are angels among us
sent down to us from somewhere up above
they come to you and me in our darkest hours
to show us how to live
to teach us how to give
to guide us with the light of love.
to guide us with the light of love.
Click on the graphic below to visit
"Heaven's Littlest Angels"
|
