Morning journal and courier., 1886-12-11
DIED LAST NIGHT.

suited in his death last evening, while John Lyons, aged twenty-three, of 214 Hamilton street, who was with Scott at the time, suf- fered injuries that will confne him to the house for some weeks. MT. Scott had job of plumbing to attend to in the Freedman block on Grand avenue and started out to in spect it. He took the young man Lyons, who is an apprentice at Foskett & Bishops. along with him. Scott had a team consisting of 8 common business wagon and spirited horse, and he decided to go to the firms shop l for some needed articles, consisting. of some lead pipe and plumbers tools, before. visit. ! ing the block where the work was going on. The firms headquarters are located ol | Grand avenue, just east of the railroad cross
 ing and on the south side of the avenue. l Entirely unconscious of the close proximity of train, Scott drove on to the crossing. The gates were up and no tender in sight, ! and he naturally thought everything all \ right. Scott was driving at good pace. | Just as the wagon reached the center of the ! track up dashed engine Al with the pay car | attached.
 The men in the team could not by any possibility save themselves from being struck | by the moving engine. The men in the team l yelled desperately at the horse, but twas too | late. The crash came. The paymaster's car | SGfuCK the wagon square 1n the center. lQ an instant the occupants were thrown high | into the air and the wagon smashed into a | thousand pieces. MT. Scott was tossed into | the air distance of twelve feet and fell | alongside the rails. In his fall the position of his body was such that his right leg from the knee down lay right across the rail. Cap tain Smith looked out of the police precinct windows the moment after the frightful collision occurred and saw & sight that made the blood run cold through his body There lay Scott, the blood flowing from sev- eral ghastly looking cuts in his head and his right leg being horribly crushed into 8 mass of bone, flesh and blood, and his left leg being cut clear off at the knee. The captain stood there almost paralyzed with the hor- ribleness of the fearful spectacle. The car and the locomotive wheels passed over the leg. Lyons went through almost similar experience to that of Scott, only that he was more fortunate in his fall.
 The horse had made mad dash for hber- tv and freeing himself from the debris ran away, but was captured uninjured at Barnes vile bridge Lyons was thrown against a switch, which was broken by the force of the collision. His right leg had been broken below the knee and one of his thumbs WAS broken and his left side bruised.
 Dr. Frank H. Whittemore was summoned and attended Lyons at the precinct, where he had been taken.
 Scott after being run over was dragged along the track for distance of thirty feet It was thought when picked up that he was dead, but he was found to be breathing. Captain Smith of the precinct summoned the ambulance and Scott was picked up tenderly, covered up and the ambulance driver made all speed to the hospital with it's horribly mangled and unconscious bur den. MT. Scott came to for few moments and in dazed sort of way asked where they were taking him to.
 The doctors at the hospital concluded al- most at the first glance at his injuries that his case was almost hopeless. They found that his skull had been injured, there were several large scalp wounds, his right leg was so frightfully mangled that amputation was necessary his nose was broken, one of his ears was lacerated and his left side was black and blue from bruises He became unconscious after reaching the hospital. His relatives received notice soon after his entrance at the hospital and his wife called there. She was nearly broken-hearted over the condition of her husband. The surgeons at tnoon were preparing for amputation. It was thought by some that on account of his age and the terrible experience he mad been through that he could not possibly survive the shock that would necessarily follow the operation.
 The operation was performed late In the afternoon with all possible care. The pa tient did not regain sensibility during or
 
 charge of the operation. It was absolutely necessary to perform it if any hopes were to be held out for his recovery. As MT. Scott seemed to have some heart difficulty anes- thetios could not be used and stimulants were administered in the hope that he could rally sufficiently to stand the shock following amputation.
 At six o'clock last night Mir. Scott was still unconscious with very slight hopes for his coming to. Lyons, after the accident, was taken to his home, where he was resting quietly last night.
 Agent Morgan yesterday afternoon sus- pended Gateman Starkey and it was report ed that Superintendent Henney of the New York division was to suspend Engineer Hall. The gateman's story concerning the accident is to the effect that the gates wouldn't work, they being frozen. He said: sI went into the switch house to get some oil, to see if that would not make them go, and when I heard shout I ran out and tried to warn the team back, but it was no use. The engi- neer did not whistle, for if he had should surely have heard it."
 The train was an unusual one and the gate tender was not expecting it. Engineer Hall says he whistled. "It is not of much conse- quence whether he did or not" said Agent w. E. Morgan at Belle dock, sfsince all whistling will be abolished in five days"
 Edward E. Hall, the engineer of No. 47, said: ''After leaving the junction and be- tween the paCklnk5 mousse anu bu0 OIu N0W London house, whistled. This is the reg ular whistling place. The bell was then rung all the way to the crossing. The gates were up. A coal cart, with gray horse at- tached, passed over ahead of the car. The engine, which was going at the rate of be- tween eight and ten miles an hour, was slowed mp 8 little for this team to pass. An other team had been stopped when the occu- pants saw the engine so close by. They saw the engine slow up somewhat and the horse was whipped along to get ahead of the engine, which was about ten feet away. Conductor Nor rell, who stood on the front end of the pay he saw them attempt to get over, and he also shouted before that. That the train was not going faster than eight or ten miles an hour can be proved by the fact that after passing the crossing it was stopped after go- ing distance of two engine lengths. The gate-tender was nowhere to be seen."
 MT. Hall, as we'll as the fireman, makes 8 positive assertion that he gave the warning whistle to the gate-tender.
 Coroner Mix said yesterday afternoon that he had no authority to make an official inves tigation until somebody was dead, but that he had ascertained some of the facts concern ing the case.
 Merritt B. Scott has long been resident of this city. During his early life he learned the machinist's trade, and shortly after his apprenticeship ended the gold craze broke out and he turnedwith the rest toward Califor- mia. That was in '49 and, after long and tedious journey around Cape Horn, he land- ed at San Francisco. From there he went to the mines where he remained for time and then obtained position in the United States mint at San Francisco, where he worked for three years.
 He then returned to New Haven and went to Westville, where he was employed for @ short time, and afterward started grocery and provision store in that town. That was in '53.
 He engaged in different occupations until 1869. He and 8 man named Smith bought out Evarts, and for the next three years the firm of Scott & Smith did business at the ole stand on Chapel street, just above the Insurance building, but in '72 c. E. P. San- ford bought out Smiths share in the cen cern and until TT was the junior partner.
 In that year MT. Scott became the sole owner and he conducted the business until 1884, when. Foskett 6 Bishop bought his stock and employed him as their foreman.