Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1892-03-16
THE coRoNER.s INQUEST.
No Blame Attached to the Railroad Em
ployes-The Victim Unidentified.

No Blame Attached 70 tne naiHoSo En-
ployes-The Victim Unidentified.
The coroner, with jury Of six men, viewed
a mass o. fragments Of the form OF an unknown
colored man at the morgue yesterday after
noon and heard the evidence Of persons to
show the manner Of death. if possible, and also
to show something Of his identity.
The dead man, from all Appearances, was q
Young man. He had a smooth face, but the
engine had cut it in two. His legs had also
been badly cut and mashed but the morpue
keeper had sewed the face together and had
made such good job of it that it was possible
for persons to recognize the body
The man. published in yesterdays STAR.
had been killed at the crossing at Virginia
avenue and Sd street. on the Baltimore and Po-
tomac railroad.
ENGINEER FRYs STORY.
Jacob Fry, engineer on the engine that
killed the man, testified that his engine was
going slow when 1t passed over the Sd street
crossing. The moon was shining brightly at
the time. but witness saw no one ON the track
witness was on his way from tho enpin, honse
to the depot to get his train.
witness SAID that his engine was on the
south-bound track. but he could not saw that
ms engine struck the man; that he did not feel
the engine jar, as it would have done had the
engine struck any object
asked juror.
were down"
DO you ring the bell on the way from the
engine house to the depot?'
NO, sir, We are not allowed to ring the bell in
'ne CITY. put when we get close upon any thing
we ring IL upon our own responsibility Wit
ness explained that his engine struck piece
a. i.1n at the "a street crossing and he thought
don, ,raI
Lhed II to see If such was the case but he
FOUND mat no injury had been sustained. He
nrst heard OF the man death in the morning,
ana he looked on the engine for blood spots,
Dnt TAILED to find any. Witness did not think
the mans body could have been dragged from
the corner of I'd street.
FIREMAN CHAMBERS.
Z. D. Chambers, fireman on the engine. was
called, but he knew nothing of the killing He
mad also examined the engine, but had failed
to find any blood spots
FLAGMAN MAYwoLr
H. A. Maywolt was tagging OH front of shift
ing engine No. GA Monday night about IL
O'Clock. The engine pulled down from the
9Th street yard over on the north bound track.
and to do SO the engine had to cross Sd street
witness saw man come from under the
gates. which had been lowered The man was
going north. He was about fifty yards from
the shifter. Witness noticed the man because
he walked unsteady. When witness last
looked around the man was standing
on the south-bound track. The en-
CINE on its way to the depot was coming
along. about fifty yards from where the man
was standing. Witness saw no more until the
shlfter started back, when the engineer called
his attention to something on the track and
said it looked like a bag of waste. Witness got
off the engine and discovered that it was the
body of man. The engineer gave witness
orders to stop anything that came until the
body was moved. The body, said witness. was
found on the track that the other engine had
passed over.
When questioned by Juror witness said he
did not see the gates lowered. but they were
down before his engine reached the crossing.
witness said that the man staggered when he
passed from beneath the gate, but he could not
say that the man had been drinking.
When the next witness called stranger
appeared before the jury and when the coroner
handed him the book to be sworn he declined,
and III broken German he informed the coroner
that he belonged in Pennsylvania and wanted
pass to Baltimore. He was referred to police
headquarters
aATEMAN sTEFFEN. -..
George Steffen, gateman at the Sd street
crossing, called, and he told what he
thought must have happened There was a
train on the crossing and the engine going
west approached very slowly. Anybody, he
said, could have gotten out OF the way and he
thought that the man must have been drunk
Witness thought that the man was struck at
the crossing and as the engine was moving
slowly 1t rolled the man along the track.
This closed the testimony and the jury found
no blame was attached to the employees OF the
railroad.