Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-11
HORRIBLY MANGLED.
Miss Ethel Curtis Meets a Terrible
Death at Takoma Park.
LITERALLY CUT TO PIECES
Inquest Held Today Over the
GhastIy Railroad Tragedy.
LONGER GATES NEEDED.

|
In sight Of a number of persons who
| were standing at the Takoma station ON
the Metropolitan branch of the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad Saturday afternoon, the
| incoming Chicago express train, running
at rate of about sixty miles an hour,
struck and instantly killed Miss Ethel Con-
way Curtis, young lady who was so well
and favorably known in this city as well as
| at her Takoma home. grade crossing
| and an unprotected sidewalk across the
track were perhaps the two things which
caused the sudden taking off of so esti-
mable young lady, and caused the saddest
tragedy ever enacted in the village. The
| Gaithersburg local. which left here at 4 :33,
| was standing at the station when Miss
| Curtis appeared there on her way to the
| post office. She hesitated before crossing
| the track and had either attempted to pass
| behind the local train or was standing too
near the south-bound track when the light
ming express came along. In the twinkling
of an eye the huge engine picked up Miss
Curtis and mangled her form beyond recog-
| milton. She was struck by the pilot of the
| engine. but instead Of being thrown from
the track the suction was so great that she
| was drawn into the driving gear. The en-
| CINE carried her fully thirty yards before
sne was hurled against the platform, be-
| ginning the work of mangling her then al
most lifeless body. While this is the YER
sion of some Of those who were there others
say she fell between the wheels at the plat
| form. which is perhaps true, as one of her
limbs was picked up almost directly oppo-
site the spot where she last stood. A short
distance from the platform her headless
trunk was found in a pool of blood, while
other fragments of the body were picked
up further along the track. Engineer Sam
| uel Marks, who had charge OF the engine
at the time, was of course unable to prevent
! the accident, but he reversed his engine
| and stopped the train.
MI Henry A. Curtis. the young lady 9
1ather. reached Takoma on an electric car
| Just after the sad accident happened He
saw the crowd, but did not go over there
walking directly to his home where he
| heard the sad news q few minutes later.
Inc receipt or the news came near causing
another death in the family. and now the
fathAr Is almost crazed with grief.
/ brought to the City.
Mr. Peter Drum, an eyewitness to the
affair, who said he was about To grab Miss
! Curtis when the train struck her. assisted in
| gathering together the portions of the body.
Yesterday he picked up several small
| pieces of bore, and this morning he ap-
peared in the railroad station with piece
of the unfortunate girls skull, which he had
| picked up some distance from where the
| accident happened.
When all the fragments o. the body had
been gathered together Saturday and placed
| In an improvised casket, and removed to the
| drug store near the station, the coroner was
notified of what had happened. He reached
Takoma about o'clock in the evening. but
| could not hold an inquest then on account
| of the absence of some important witnesses.
| He, however, gave permission for the re-
moval of the remains to j. w. Lees under
| taking establishment on Pennsylvania ave-
| nue.. where the work of Mr.. Lee put the
body in the best possible condition, and
placed the remains in white casket Yes
terday the casket, with its contents, was
taken to the home which in such short
time had been turned from happy one into
one of sadness.
- Many Grieving Friends.
Miss Curtis was an accomplished girl and
had recently celebrated her nineteenth
birthday. She was blonde and was very
popular among her friends In Washington
| as we'll as in Tal1oma. During the summer
she spent most of her time in the west and
her father had recently moved to his new
home in Takoma. where Miss Curtis antici-
pated an enjoyable winter. She had nu-
merous friends among the young folks and
her tragic ending has brought sorrow to the
entire village.
Her father, Mr.. Henry A. Curtis. who
came from Vermont, is veteran of the
late war. He is employed in the engineers
office of the War Department where he has
been since the close of the war. His wife
died about eighteen months ago.
The Inquest.
DIR. Woodward, the coroner, and a jury
composed of six residents of Takoma who
served as jurymen met in the ladies' wait
ing room of the depot this morning and
heard the testimony of witnesses. Those
who composed the jury were Capt. Thomas
Lay, Robert S. Brown, Theodore A. Lay, jr.,
John S. Ainsworth, John b. McCrystal and
Charles II. Raub.
Soon after the jury met Policeman Mich
olson appeared and saiu he had found sew
eral additional pieces of flesh and BONE and
DR.. Woodward gave Instructions that they
be turned over to the undertaken
DR.. Woodw ard said it was not necessary
to explain the nature of the affair. as the
members of the jury well understood the
tragedy.
The first witness called was Peter Drum.
who said his occupation was that of a fire.
man, but that he was now unemployed
Where were you when Miss Curtis was
struck the coroner asked him
About ten feet from her." was his re-
Spouse. She tried TO go over the crossing
the train.
Witness said that he and Miss Curtis
the track when the LEGAL train was stand
lhg there. She was waiting for the local
Tram TO get out of the way SO that she
could cross THE local train" he said,
was still moving. 1 cannot say whether il
mad stopped and started. but it was still
moving. L saw the express train coming
anu started to catch her but the train got
there a little too quick for me-"
witness said that the express train was
Whistling all the way down the track, but
MIS-; MISS curtis attention was directed to the
local and she did not see the other train.
Only Time to Scream
When he got there he saw Charley Dudley
and the gatekeeper come up on the plat
form. They motioned to her to go back, but
she just had time to straighten up and give
scream. Witness thought the pilot of the
engine struck her. She was thrown toward
the platform and then she was drawn into
the running gear. All that could be seen
was her dress flying in the air. Her body
could not be seen. Witness followed the
tram down the track. thinking she might
possibly be thrown from the engine and he
render A.