The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-01-03
SAD ACCIDENT.
A Little Girl Run Over and Killed by
astreet Car Last Night.

About quarter after seven o'clock last
night Mary, q daughter of William
Nicholson, a peddler, aged thirteen years.
while attempting to cross Chapline street.
at the corner of Twenty-eighth' was
knocked down by the horses attached to
Street Car No 7, in charge of Conductor
Saml. Vance, and run over and instantly
killed. A crowd Immediately cen.
gregated around the body OF the
child and in q few minutes the corpse
was conveyed into the house OF its par
ents, close by. 49,
Squire Bellville and DR.. Hally Mccoy
were soon summoned. The Squire at
once empanneleI jury to hold
an inquest over the body of the child
and ascertain the facts as TO the cause OF
her death. The following named gen.
tlemen we're at once sworn in as a jury:
VIM. Travis, Jacob Hughes, VIM.
Truax, Wilson johnson, Michael Noon,
Thos. Flanagan, VIM. Devlin, VIM. Con-
ner, l.. Murphy, A. Newman, Louis
Asmans, James Cunningham.
DR.. Mccoy was then requested to ex-
anime the body, and stated to the jury
that her right collar bone was crushed
and loosened from its connections. The
left hand was mashed and the bones
broken, and the left wrist and arm above
the elbow were broken. The left collar
bone was fractured, and the spinal col
umn broken close to the neck, which
| would have occasioned her death in
stantly if she had not sustained any other
injuries. The boy showed other indi-
cations of internal injuries, such as bleed
ing at the mouth and nose. After
the Doctors examination of the
body. Witnesses were sworn and tn
following facts elected:
VIM. Murphy, u boy about IL years
old, said he saw the girl run across the
street with her sister, who had hold of
her hand. He ran forward, seized the
sister and saved her. One of the horses
knees struck the girl and knocked her
upward nearly four feet. He thought
the horses were going at. a last
trot; followed, and the conductor
pulled the bell to stop; he heard the
bones crack as the wheels run over the
body; heard the driver cry whoa.
Officer Baumberger was sent after
Samuel Vance, the conductor, ard Robt.
Cromwell, the driver OF the car, vino
were sworn. Cromwell testified that he
saw the girl few feet ahead of the car;
she crossed the track, turned, and at
tempted to recross it; it was then the
tongue of the car struck her; stopped the
car as soon as possible but the lines got
tangled in the handle OF the break, which
prevented the working of the break to
advantage. The car went nearly tiftv
wards before it was checked up. lie said
if his lines had not caught in the break
he could not have stopped the car in time
to save her He had been in the
employ of the company five weeks. He
had never driven any before his COM
nection with the street cars. He stated
he had seven minutes to make switches
ard was about one minute behind time.
He said he did not know how fast he WAS
allowed to run and that he never had
sny instructions to that effect.
Vance, the conductor, testified that
he was on the rear end OF the
car when the accident happened. He dis
tinctly heard the car run over something,
and pulled the bell to stop. He ran up
to where the child was run over; saw
some man pick her up; he inquired who
she was, but no one knew her; hethen re-
turned to his car and continued on. He
asserted that he never permitted his car
to 90 faster than trot; that conductor
and driver were always on the car atthis
point, except at meal times. He SAID he
could walk the switches in seven minutes;
he thought that at time; the speed Ct tho
horses were too fast for safety. At the
time OF the accident he did not think he
was going faster than trot.
Other evidence was taken, but some
what of II conflicting nature. The evil
dence being all taken, the witnesses We're
discharged and the jury, after consldera.
BILE deliberation. rendered the following
verdict:
From the evidence before them they
n -
came to her death through being acct
dentally struck, knocked down and run
over by Street Car No. I, Conductor
Samuel Vance and driver Robert Corn
well, at the corner of Chapline and
Twenty-eigbth streets, in the Sixth ward,
city of Wheeling.
The Jury also believe that the street
car company are culpable for permitting
undue rates of speed on their line, and
employing incompent drivers, and the
parsimonious policy of the company IN
running cars at times with but one man.
During the examination it was fire.
quently stated that the drivers frequently
permitted their horses to run after passing
Echles' switch.
This is very sad affair, and some
prompt measures should be taken By the
company to guard all in their power
against accidents in the future.