The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-07-18
THE BELT LINE RESPONSIBLE.
The Coroner's Investigation Of the
West Broad Street Accident.

A coroner's inquest was held yesterday
over the body Of Cornelius H. O'Driscoll,
the 2 year-oid child Of Mall Carrier O'Dris-
coll, killed on the Belt Line road, at West
! Broad street and Perry street lane Tuesday
night. The verdict was rather a novel one,
and has occasioried considerable talk IN the
/ light Of the evidence.
The verdict was that Cornelius Fl.
O'Driscoll came to his death 10y being run
over by car No. Of the Belt Line railroad.
The jury eXouerates the conductor from all
blame, and the driver from any criminal
intent, but we consider the road responsible
for employing an incompetent driver"
George A. Upchurch, one of the jurors,
dissented from the verdict in the following
addenda Il dissent, and consider the acct
dent an unavoidable one, and 70 one re-
spmsiblen
The mayor yesterday morning released
the conductor, G. NJ. Malpheus, on parole,
to be present as a witness at the inquest,
and held the colorel driver, Henry Little,
subject to warrant OF the coroner, and
the two were fiualy discharged by Coroner
Dixon after the verdict had been rendered.
b. l.. Mcdonald, special policeman at the
Central railroad Offices, testified that he
saw the child on the track about ten PAGES
n front of the approaching car and heard
cry Of ''Stop the carr Mcdonald said that
he pulled of his hat and waved it at the
driver and told him to stop the car, but
that the driver paid no attention and drove
over the child, the front wheel running
over it and the hind wheel dragging it
some nine or ten feet. He helped remove
the hind wheel from the child, and take it
from under the car The car, he said, was
on the bend Of the switch, and was not
going very fast. The car first struck the
child 1t was on the east side Of West
Broad street, going north. Mcdonald was
only about thirty yards distant, aud saw
no effort Of the driver to stop the car.
c. M. Malpheus the conductor testified
that the car was going around the curve
from Liberty street into West Broad, and
he was looking in the crowd on West Broad
for passengers. The other car had passed
No going south when he heard several
voices crying "Hey. hey" and the driver
stopped the car. The witness felt the Jolt
in gong over something. 1t is the business
of the driver, Malpheus said, to
look after passengers as well as TO
watch the animals drawing the car. The
conductor was the first to reach the child,
and finding he could not pull it out, assisted
to back the car of. lie did not know Little
as a regular driver. He was driving for
Little's brother, Malpheus' regular driver,
who is sick None Of the passengers on the
car saw the child until after the accident.
| There was no one on the front platform
with the driver.
Frank Aston, who witnessed the accident,
told different story from that of Melon
aid. Aston testified that as the driver
turned off the brakes after the south bound
car passed, the horses started off ON a fast
walk, and he saw the child knocked down
by the knees of the horses, and then he hal
| lowed out. He hadn't seen the child until
it was knocked down by the horses.
1t was matter of some comment at the
inquest that child of such tender years
should be permitted to stray away from
home and find It's way TO the street railway
| track and none of the many persons along
that portion Of West Broad street should
see it and remove it from harms way.