Herbert Coward, wife Bertha Brooks, their pet squirrel and a dog were killed in a North Carolina car crash.
Associated Press
Herbert Coward, known for his “Toothless Man” role in the movie “Deliverance,” died Wednesday in a crash on a western North Carolina highway, according to authorities. He was 85.
The crash happened Wednesday afternoon as Coward and Bertha Brooks, 78, left a doctor’s appointment, North Carolina Highway Patrol Sgt. M.J. Owens said by telephone on Thursday. Coward pulled out onto U.S. Route 19 in front of a pickup truck, which hit his car, Owens said. Coward and Brooks as well as a Chihuahua and pet squirrel were killed, he said. Coward, who lived in Haywood County, was famous locally for having a pet squirrel, he said.