The headline on the front page of the Windsor Star for December 16, 1966, read: “Professor Killed Saving Two.” The professor was Gustave C. Dispas, a 45-year-old associate professor of French at the University of Windsor. The two he saved were his fiancée Drene DeGroot and Margot Frei, a student visiting from Heidelberg, Germany.

As they were walking on the shoulder of the road, a speeding car with one headlight out careened toward the trio. Dr. Dispas pushed DeGroot and Frei into the ditch by the road before he was struck.

Classics professor Max Nelson has written an account of the incident and published it on the website of the Department of Languages, Literatures and Cultures in memoriam on the 50th anniversary of Dispas’ death.

“His tragic passing can still serve as a potent reminder of the perils of drinking and driving,” Dr. Nelson writes. “Let’s all stay safe during the Christmas break.”

Read his article, “Remembering a Windsor Professor 50 Years after his Death.”