Morning journal and courier., 1886-12-14
ooRoNER mIx,s rInnrNa.


 last Friday, was taken yesterday morning. President Hoadley B. Ives of the Fair Haven horse railroad company, who had been sum- | moned as a witness, said that he did not see l the accident and was excused. Officer John Mc- Avoy of the precinct testified that the train was going faster than the switching engines | go at that crossing. He told of conversa- | tion he had with Gateman Starkey. Cap | tain Treadwell Smith of the precinct told how he heard the conductor yell three or l four times. He said: "I did not hear any
 bell ring or whistle blown, and probably would not have minded it if it was blown, 1 for was engaged in writing. saw Starkey
 run toward the switch shortly after the acci- dent The gates were not down. Starkey 1 ran over and caught the handles as if to let the gates down" James Cobey, of Fair l Haven, testified that he heard the whistle blow; thought that the train was going very l fast. Patrick OHara testified that he saw l Starkey going into his shanty just before the
 accident; the gates were up. The train
 | was going very fast. Heard no whistles blown or bells rung. Robert Kane, of Fair l Haven, testified that he heard the yelling, | and after the accident saw the gate pole shaking as if the wagon was knocked | against it. Thought the train was going at | the rate of twelve miles an hour. Kane was | the last witness. Coroner Mix concluded | his finding late in the afternoon. Following 1 is the finding in full:
 THE coRoNER's FINDING.
 On Friday morning, December 10th, 1886, engine No. AT of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad company, to which was attached pay car belonging to said com pany, left the said company's passenger de- pot of New Haven about 7:42 a. m. bound
 for Belle dock. The engine
 Edward E. Hall, the conductor in charge of
 said train being Ebert O. Merrill. The said
 train ran to Tin bridge junction, switched
 and backed down to the track leading to
 Belle dock, running at least at the rate ot ten
 miles an hour. When approaching Grand
 avenue, Ca crossing at grade over said rail !
 road company's tracks) and at the accustom- !
 cd place of whistling Engineer Hall blew two |
 whistles as 8 warning, and also contin-
 ually rang the bell of the engine l
 from the time they switched at the !
 Tin bridge junction until they crossed l
 stood on the rear end of the pay they |
 backed down and saw that the gates were |
 not down (which should swing across to |
 prevent approach of teams and foot passen- gers on the approach of trains at said cross | ing). He shouted loudly so that he attracted | the attention of passers by, but did not sig | nal the engineer of the train at that time of | the approach of said team at said crossing, which was about quarter to s o'clock a m. Merritt B. Scott at tempted to drive horse and wagon across said track. The gates were not down or lowered in any way, nor did he hear any whistle warning that a train was approach ing The wagon containing Mir. Scott was struck by the pay car while on said crossing, ! he was thrown violently to the track and re- ceived the following injuries: His right leg was crushed above the ankle, 8 deep gash \ md hifrh aiv dJ and other injuries in different parts of his body. The said wounds caused excessive hemorrhages, which, together with the violent shock to his nervous sys- I tenn, caused his death. At said Grand avenue crossing said railroad com. whose duty and employment it is to take charge of said gates guarding said crossing, and to lower the same on approach or signal of approach of any train, engine. On the approach of engine Mo- AT and pay car, as herein stated, said John Starkey was in small shanty located on the Fair Haven side of track and did not lower gates or give any warning of the approach of said train, as was his duty to do. MT. Starkey states that on said Friday morning one of the gates was put of order, three working properly and one not; that they had bothered him all the ! morning from the time he arrived at crossing at 5:30 a.m., and that at the time of the ac- cident he was in the shanty getting oil to oil the gates that they might work more easily. Other witnesses two in number) testify that on said morning they saw the gates downed on the approach of other trains and they ' worked all right. . MT. Starkey admits that the gates were out of order until after the &C., cident, though he states he knew them to be in dangerous condition. After the acci- dent the bridge and gate repairer of said com wires broken SO that one of the gates could not be properly lowered, and it is his opinion after careful examination that something struck it, damaging the gate and breaking the wire. One other witness testifes that at the time of the accident he saw the gate shake violently, as if something had struck 1t. Whatever is the fact, whether the gate was broken before or after the accident-ifI broken before John Starkey knew of it's dangerous condition and should have at once ! notified in some way the company and should have been extra vigilant and taken l every precaution by flags, which he had at his command, or other means to warn passengers of the approach of trains and should have remained at his gate, not leaving ! the same for an instant. I find that the ! house or shanty provided by said company for it's gatetender is located on the opposite l side of the track from the location of the crank that lowers the gates, thereby causing the gatetender, if he is in his house, to cross ! over to the opposite side on the approach of a train. I find that Merritt B. Scott came to his death at the State hospital, New Haven, ! on the 10th day of December, 1886, at 10:55 ?. m., by injuries received at Grand avenue crossing, as herein stated, and that hls death ! was caused by carelessness and the omission of John Starkey in not attending properly 0 his duties while gatetender in the ,mploy of the New York, New Haven & l Hartford railroad company at Grand avenue crossing near New Haven, Conn. I censure Glbert O. Merrill, conductor of said train, md think he was greatly at fault in not sig ;; lalling the engineer of said train to stop IT reducing it's speed upon his discerning he fact that the gates were not lowered or ,eing lowered.
 Coroner Mix said last night that copy of i, lis finding had been filed with State Attor ley Doolittle. He did not know whether or lot any arrests were to be made.