Paul Beal died along with his younger brother John on Friday May 9, 1969 when a wagon in which he was pulling his little brother overturned in an irrigation ditch after water was inadvertently released downstream. John was swept away by the rushing torrent of water and Paul jumped into the ditch to attempt to save his younger brother's life. Both boys were carried downstream by the force of the current and swept beneath the road across the street from the American Fork Hospital. Both boys were snagged on protruding rebar within the tunnel and drowned before the water could be shut off upstream. Their deaths shocked the small community and led to protective grates being placed over all irrigation culverts that passed beneath roads to avert further tragedies from occuring. Paul's fifth grade classmates sang "I Am a Child of God" at his funeral and Paul and John were buried together in a large casket.
Paul Beal died along with his younger brother John on Friday May 9, 1969 when a wagon in which he was pulling his little brother overturned in an irrigation ditch after water was inadvertently released downstream. John was swept away by the rushing torrent of water and Paul jumped into the ditch to attempt to save his younger brother's life. Both boys were carried downstream by the force of the current and swept beneath the road across the street from the American Fork Hospital. Both boys were snagged on protruding rebar within the tunnel and drowned before the water could be shut off upstream. Their deaths shocked the small community and led to protective grates being placed over all irrigation culverts that passed beneath roads to avert further tragedies from occuring. Paul's fifth grade classmates sang "I Am a Child of God" at his funeral and Paul and John were buried together in a large casket.
