Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-06-23

The sudden taking Of Of Alice O'Brien, the
hvs-year-old daughter Of Mr.. and Mrs. James
A. O'Brien Of 10c2 18th street, by being knocked
down and run over BY wagon yesterday, q
published in yesterdays STAR, proved . terri
BILE shock to the parents. The little child wa
killed 20 suddenly that she had no time to real
lie what had happened, nor did she experiences
any pain. As her body lay on . sofa in
the dining room Of her parents house
there was . peaceful exprsssi0n on
her pale face. Her blonde hair had been
combed and curled only few minutes before
hsr frightful death, but it was then matted
with blood from the wounds Of the had. The
meeting between the parents in tho presence
Of the dead body was an affecting one. The
husband and father had been called homo from
work, but not until he reached the house did
ne realize the seriousness of the accident. Per
ley, the three-year-old child, who was with her
sister ct the time Of the accident,
was much improved this morning. She was
| not dangerously hurt. Her head was bruised
and she was badly frightened, but beyond that
she was not injured. She Is being attended by
The funeral of the dead child will take phce
tomorrow morning.
THE coRoxKR's rNQuEsT.
examination yesterday afternoon and held an
inquest at the third precinct station this morn
ing;
was present at the hearing and he was repre-
sented by Lawyer Chas. Maurice Smith.
The combination beer and soft stun wagon,
which did the damage, was in front Of the sta
ton, and was examined by the jurymen. There
was bolt missing from part OF the break but
1t was claimed that that did not interfere with
the workings of the brake.
The first witness examined was b colored man
named Charles johnson, who was on the wagon
when the accident occurred. He testified that
when he first saw them. They stopped, and
when the wagon was near them they started to
run across. Witness called to them, but they
paid no attention to him, land, " he said, "they
walked right square up into the wagon"
Into the wagon or the horse?" queried the
coroner.
'The wagon" he answered.
The proceedings were interrupted by the
uncle Of the deceased remarking, "He's drunk. :"
He was cautioned against repetition Of the in
terruptiOn and the hearing proceeded.
Witness was questioned by the coroner and o
the horses hOof struck the girl or not nor could
he tell which wheel Of the wagon struck the
child.
Acting Coroner Schaeffer remarked tina while
the remark Of the uncle was uncalled for he
thought 1t was founded on fact.
JAMES LANNON'S EVIDENCE.
Jas. Lannon, a carpenter, who was working
on 25th street at the time OF the accident, tes-
tilted that he heard his partner shout, and when
he turned he saw the children lying
on the street. He picked up the dead child and
started toward the house. The mother came
out and he handed the child over to her. Wit
ness said that the driver assisted him to pick up
the child. and he (the driver) remarked: "Oh,
my God! it's . terrible thing. What's to be
done?'
The wagon stopped about 100 yards from
where the accident happened. Witness could
not tell how fast the horse was going, for he
did not see the horse until after it had stopped
There were other children on the pavement.
DR.. II. NJ. Newman testified that he was
called to the house, but he found that the child
was dead. The child's clothing was saturated
with blood and the skull was crushed. Witness
could not tell whether the horses foot or the
wheel had inflicted the injury to the skull.
THE MOTHERS sroRY.
The heart-broken mother was next called, and
she.told, as best she could, the story Of the &C
cident: ~ got the two little babies ready to
practice little piece, she said, land sent them
over to the church with the other children.
was watching them to see that they got along
all right. They had hold Of each others hands
and the wagon drove upon them. The sun was
so strong that l suppose they did not see the
wagon coming along"
Witness could not say what struck her child
first, but the wheel went over her head and wit
ness saw her roll over after the accident. The
carpenter picked her up and brought her to-
ward the house.
that her children had separated from the
others, but they did not stop, Is the
colored witness stated. The wagon, she said,
came down at full tilt and struck the child be-
fore she (witness) could call to them. Mrs.
O'Brien said that both the children had weak
eyes and she thought the strong sunlight AZ
fected them.
when l first saw the wagon" said the
mother, "the children were walking toward it,
and was hoping to God that the wagon would
stop"
HEARD THE DRIVER CALL.
Philip L. Rodier, carpenter, who was work
ing near the scene Of the occurrence yesterday,
testified that he heard man on the wagon call
to the children, who were going disgonally
across the street. When witness looked up the
children we're fyo or six feet from the wagon,
the smaller child, Perley. being in front.
She ran into the shaft near the step
and was thrown beneath the wagon. The older
sister appeared to be going after the younger
one. She struck against the same part OF the
vehicle, was knocked down and both wheels
passed over her. The driver jumped out OF
the wagon before the horse stopped.
"Was the wagon going fastY'' asked Juror.
81 couldn't tell how fast the horse was going. "
he responded. There is a pretty steep grade
there and the horse was trotting."
From the testimony it appeared that the col
ored man was sitting on the right side Of the
seat next to the brake.
WHAT JOHN r. KANE SAW.
John F. Kane testified that he saw the Wagon
| just after the accident. The colored man wal
seated in the middle Of the seat. He had the
reins in his hands and was calling "Whoa." HI
thought that the horse had become frightened
The animal was stopped for an instant about
six yards from where the accident occurred, but
then started of again and was stopped near 4
street. The driver picked the child up and
handed it to Mr.. Lannon. Witness picked uI
the other child.
Mark J. Foley testified that when his atten
ton was attracted to the wagon he Jaw . group
ofchildren crossing the street. He saw the
driver jump from the wagon and pass thu
reins to the colored man. Witness thought thu
screams Of the women frightened the horse
after the child had been killed. The colored
man had his foot on the brake when wit
ness saw him. He could not tell whether
the driver had his foot on the brake or not
The horse was trotting down the hill ct the time
Loo ,rsx