Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-04-30
THE CoRoNER's INQUEST.
No Blame Attached TO the GriPman l0r n
HOLIDAYS Death.

No Blame Attached to the Gripman lbr Mrs
Holidays Death.
Coroner Patterson viewed the body Of Mrs.
Caroline Holiday, the aged woman whose death
| resrtted from injuries received by being struck
| BY cable car at the B street crossing Thurs
day, as published in yesterdays STAB, and had
the body removed to Lees undertaking estab-
lishnent on Pennsylvania avenue. where an
inquest was held at IL o'clock this morning.
Policeman Oliver had charge of the case and
he reported the names of fifteen witnesses, but
they were not all present, as several could not
be found
Louis Kahn, No. SIT 7th street, the first wit
ness. testified that he was seated on the second
seat in the grip car. The lady came between
two carriages and was crossing toward the east.
The car was going south and the gripmap rang
his bell and applied his brakes but the de-
ceased stepped In front Of the car. She was
carrying raised umbrella at the time. Sew
eral persons on the sidewalk, he said, called to
her to stop, but he supposed she did not hear
them.
How close to the car was she when the grip
man rang the bell?"
About ten feet" answered witness.
Charles Davenport, No. 2436 Virginia avenue,
testlned that he saw Mrs. Holiday when she
was picked up. He did not see her before the
car struck her. The car had stopped.
e,
testihed that he was near the market when the
accident occurred There was q ear coming
each way and witness heard the bells ringing.
Two ladies' came across the street. One Of them
stopped. but Mrs. Holiday paid no attention to
1t. She had her umbrella raised at the time
The side of the car struck her and knocked
ner down, and her dress caught in the wheel.
witness saw the gripman operating his brake.
Dr. >. g. g.. Custis. No. ITO East Capitol
street testified that he was called to see the
injured lady. He found her unconscious.
There was slight bruise over her right eye.
She did not regain consciousness He thought
0eatn resulted from cerebral hemorrhage, the
result OF the injury. Witness found no evil
dence OF fracture of the skull He said there
was also slight bruise on her ankle.
>. ID. Richardson, No. 231 AZ srr4et, testified
tnat the woman was dragged beneath the car,
and 1t took fully five minutes to get her from
there. He did not hear the bell ring after it
iert the junction, but he would not swear that
the bell was not rung
~ George FLICK. member of troop A, D. C..
troop, gave evidence. They were seated in tho
car when the accident happened. Both wit
nesses heard the ringing of the bell and saw the
brakes applied. The handle Of the car struck
her and knocked her down, and the car moved
about three feet after she was struck. The
latter witness said that if the deceased had
stopped when the gripman first rang the bell
she would have avoided the accident
W. A. Anderson of Fairfax county, Va, was q
passenger on the grip car He thought that
the gripman did all in his power to prevent the
accident Mrs. Holiday, he said had an UNI
brella raised and she also had small basket
Cornelia Finks, colored, gave similar testi-
mony.
A colored man named Harry Hawkins, who
witnessed the accident, thought that the grip
man could have prevented it. He thought the
car could be stopped in an instant.
Walter WorthinstOn. nephew Of the deceased,
gave evidence to show that the deceased could
not see we'll There was an imperfection in her
sight; Her brother, he said, was blind some
time before he died
II. Hughes, the gripman, was the last wit
ness called. He testified that the woman
walked ont from between two wagons and was
within six feet Of the car when he saw her
Witness said he was ringing the bell for a
wagon before he saw the woman. The car was
making little more than half speed at the
time.
In answer to question by the coroner Wit
ness said that on a down grade it required SIX
or seven feet in which to stop the car If the
tracks were dry
The jury returned verdict attaching no
blame to the gripman, finding that the affair
was purely an accident.