Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-03-19
NO ONE TO BLAME
No One to Blame for the Accident on the
lexington Road.
The Inquest Held Today and the Cir
cumstances of the Accident
Related by Witnesses

While the question of providing tenders
Tor the street cars to prevent possible loss
OF HE IS being discussed the street rail-
roads are making a bad record in the mat
ter of destroying human life. Following
the killing of young Tyler On the Rock
creek road Saturday, as printed in SAT
urday's Star, the lexington and Soldiors'
Home trolley road killed a boy yester-
day about noon. William Brewster De
Jarnette, a nine-year-old boy. was the
victim. Ills father is in the brick business
at Brooks station, Virginia. and lives in
lexington, only a short distance from the
power house.
Yesterday morning the boy attended
Sunday school at Kendall Chapel in South
Washington and was returning home
whsn he met with the fatal accident He
got on q car going north in the direction
or Soldiers Home and went around behind
the car and started to cross the south
bound track, when the moving car on the
other track struck him. Motorman Low
cry Hendricks was in charge of the car
No. L. and Conductor Frank Callahan was
the conductor
The De Jarnette boy did not wait for the
car to stop before he got or His adopted
brother was with him at the time and he
waited for the car to come TO a stand
still. The boy who met with the fatal ac-
cident did not heed the warning of Motor
man Hendricks, who rang his bell and
then called to him. The boy was only
about three feet from the car when the
motorman first saw him. He reversed his
controller and put on his brakes but to
no purpose. Edgar, the adopted brother
attempted to save him, but in vain. The
car knocked the boy down and the wheels
on one side of the car passed over him in
the region of the hips mangling both legs
The ambulance from the Emergency Hos
pital reached the scene of the accident as
soon as possible and convened the diving
n IN ipgriflIrio1 hut a tod ;,tcr "a.
the hospital was reached. Then his body
was returned to the home of the boys
parents in lexington.
The Inquest Today.
The motorman was placed under arrest
and held until this morning Conduct r
Callahan boarded with the boys parents,
where a number of other employees Of the
road live. William and his adopted brother
had been in the habit of taking the meals
to the men on the cars and the latter had
often warned them of their carelessness in
jumping on and off the cars before they
stopped. This morning, at 10 o'clock, Cor
oner Woodward held an inquest in the case
at the power house in lexington and heard
the evidence of a number of witnesses.
Lowery Hendricks, the motorman, was the
first witness examined. He lives on Gin
cinnati street, Brookland
How long have you been a motorman? %
the coroner asked.
-Four years.
Where have you worked?"
In Nashville, Tenn. came here in
August and have since been employed on
the lexington and Soldiers Home road"
Witness said he was running the car at
the time of the accident. His car was in
good condition, the brakes and appliances
being all right. There were about twelve
passengers in the car at the time.
How fast was your car going?
Il should judge not more than five miles
an hour"
Where were you when you first saw the
boy?"
In charge of the brake and ringing the
gong. i saw the other car slow up, and
then I commenced sounding the gong"
Witress said that when the boy stepped
on the track he was not more than three
feet from the car. The boy was running at
the time, and witness thought he made an
effort to save himself. After the boy was
struck the car went about twelve feet. The
wheels passed over him, but he was not
dead when witness pick ed him up and hand
ed him over to a bystander.
AT the suggestion of an official of the
road, witness told of having seen the boy
about the cars many times, and he knew
that he had been warned about his careless
ness.
The Decensed's Brother.
Edgar De Jarrett, an adopted brother of
the dead boy. was called. He gave his age
as ten years, and said he did not know
what would become of him il he was sworn
on the Bible and told an untruth. For this
reason the coroner decided not to take his
sworn testimony. but allowed him to make
a statement not under oath.
Il was with my brother yesterday" he
said. we were on our way home from
Sunday school, together, and my brother
got OF the car before il stopped / waited
until IT stopped, and then 1 got Off" He
said he heard the bell Of the south-bound
car ringing. Willie he said, started
across the track, and tried to pull him