Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-06-18
MICHAEL KINNEY'S DEATH
The COrOneI's Jury Censures the
Railroads.
"A neglected Crossing Charged as the
cause or Yesterdays Tragedy ana n
Remedy Eecommended---T In.
quest, Etc.

seph Kali to hold an INQUEST on the re
mains of Michael Kinney. whose fearful
death by being run over by engine II, o
the h. l. & P. road at the foot of Seven
teenth street al 4 o'clock yesterday after.
noon. was recorded in the ARGUS Of
last evening. The jury viewed the body
In the Diamond 10 warehouse, where il
had been conveyed, and then adjourned
until this morning The remains were
taken in charge by Undertaken Knox
and prepared for burial. and late last
evening taken to the stricken home, 2626
Fourth avenue.
This morning the inquest was conduct.
ed at Coroner Halves office. E. w
Hurst was the first witness examined.
lie testified TO being conductor on the
C., B. & Q road. Yesterday af.
ternoon about o'clock he was coming
into Rock Island on freight train which
was mo wing west. as Seventeenth street
was approached a R. l. & P road engine
was backing east on parallel track about
twenty steps north. Witness saw the
Peoria engine strike man who was then
IN the middle of the track. The man fell
on his face and the engine passed over
him after dragging him ten or twelve
feet. The engine was running from four
to five miles an hour.
j. b. Gustin. of Roseville. illinois, a
brakeman on the c.. B. l. @, was on the
first car in the Q freight train back of the
engine. The FIRST he saw of the M an killed
he was six or eight feet from the backing
engine on the r. l. & p road Witness
called to him, but he paid no attention
The tank struck him and he fell on his
race beneath the rear trucks, and the en-
CINE passed completely over him. The
engine was not running faster than four
miles an hour. The tracks of the two
roads were ten feet apart. Witness, as
was the case with the preceding witness,
did not know whether the bell on the
Peoria engine was ringing or not.
ii. E. Bowman. of Beardstown, a
brakeman on the c.. B. & Q. testified
pretty much to the same effect.
s S Hull, of this city. testified to hay
ing known the deceased since 1867; had
seen him yesterday afternoon within ten
or fifteen minutes of the time of the ac>
cident He was then perfectly sober.
Deceased had been at yard of the witness
three and a half blocks west of the place
of the accident examining some stone.
John Kelley. of Cable. testified to be-
ing an engineer on engine IL. on the Gas
BILE branch of the r. /. & P. road. Had
known the deceased for some wears.
Witness was backing his engine up from
the round house at about five minutes to
4 yesterday afternoon, to the depot to
take his train to Cable. Was expecting
to meet another engine between him
and the depot. The first witness knew
he felt jar and stepped into the gang.
way and saw in the middle of the track
a man the locomotive had passed over.
No one was on the engine at the time
but witness. He was ringing the bell,
and running very slowly. He was watch
ing for the other engine and not running
over four or five miles an hour 1t is
customary for fireman to be in the cab,
too. but some times the engineer runs the
engine from the round house to the de-
pot alone.
Robert Knight, of Gable, fireman on
engine II, sU ore that he was between
Eighteenth and Nineteenth streets on
First avenue when the accident occurred.
He was watching for the engine. and had
been off about half an hour for the pur-
pose of making some purchases in the
|city before going out. The bell was ring
ing as the en- CINE approached aid he did
not know of the accident until the en-
CINE stopped, nor the cause of its stop
ping at the time.
A number of other witnesses were ex>
amined. but nothing of Importance was
elected and the jury after an hours de-
liberation returned verdict that Michael
Kinney "came to his death by being run
over by engine No. II of the Cable branch
of the Rock Island & Peoria Railway
company at The foot of Seventeenth street
and First avenue in the city of Rock ISL
and and we the jury. further find that
the Rock Island s. Peoria Railway COM
pany and the c.. B. d @ Railway COM
pany be censured for their negligence in
having no flagman at said street, and res
commend tn at one be Immediately placed
there"
This is the second accident at thi q
crossing within week, showing the ne
cessity of some means of protection. and
demonstrating the wisdom Of the ARGUS
course in advocating the establishment
of gates there and at Eighteenth street,
such as are in use at Twenty fourth
street.
MIR. Kinney had been down examining
some stone on which he was to COM
mence work at his trade-stone cutting
this morning, Contractor Stephens hav-
ing given him employment in the after
noon. The theory generally accepted il
that he saw the incoming freight train on
the Burlington advancing. and in at
tempting to get out of its way got over
on the Peoria track just as the engine
backed up. and thus met his terrible fate