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

The sudden taking of Of Alice O'Brien, the
five-year-old daughter Of Mr.. and Mrs. James
A. O'Brien Of 1902 25th street, by being knocked
down and run over by wagon yesterday, as
published In yesterdays STAR, proved terri
BILE shock to the parents. The little child was
killed so suddenly that she had no time to real
ize what had happened, nor did she experience
any pain. As her body lay on q sofa in
the dining room of her parents house
there was peaceful expression on
her pale face. Her blonde hair had been
| combed and curled only few minutes before
her frightful death, but it was then matted
with blood from the wounds of the head. The
meeting between the parents in the presence
Of the dead body was an affecting one. The
| husband and father had been called home from
work, but not until he reached the house did
he realize the seriousness Of the accident. Per-
Ley the tareeyearGid child who was with her
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
DR.. Newman.
The funeral Of the dead child will take place
tomorrow morning.
THE coRoNER's INQUEST.
Deputy Coroner Schaeffer made post-mortem
examination yesterday afternoon and held an
inquest at the third precinct station this morn
ing E.. ar,v., =, N. u..o, ,o.sn, N,non,su
was present at the hearing and he was repre-
sented by Lawyer Chas. Maurice Smith
The combination beer and soft stuff 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
| it was claimed that that did not interfere with
| the workings Of the brake
| The first witness examined was a colored man
named CharlesJ ohnson, who was on the wagon
when the accident occurred. He testified that
the little girls were coming across the street
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 a
Juror and he said he was unable to say whether
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
eAOuSAs Az was 1ouuoCu Ou . ldCt
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 driven 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.
| DIR. II. NJ. Newman testified that he was
called to the house, but he found that the child
was dead. The childs 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 STORY.
The heart-broken mother was next called, and
she told, as best she could, the story Of the ac-
cident: II 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 suppose they did not see the
wagon coming along"
| 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.
| In answer to a question by juror she said
that her children had separated from the
others, but they did not stop, as 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 af-
| fected them.
"when 1 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 diagonally
across the street. When witness looked up the
children we're five 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
"Was the wagon going fastf' 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 trottiny."
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 was
seated in the middle of the seat. He had the
reins in his hands and was calling "Whoa." He
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 off again and was stopped near K
street. The driver picked the child up and
handed it to Mr.. Lannon. Witness picked up
the other child.
Mark J. Foley testified that when his atten-
ton was attracted to the wagon he saw group
Of children crossing the street. He saw the
driver jump from the wagon and pass the
reins to the colored man. Witness thought the
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 at the time
loff he lo,,f :-1- a