The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1895-12-20
ANOTHER WARNING
COaSting Lesson From Our
NeighbOr, Seattle.
KNOCKED DOWN BY A SLED
Moses SOmmerfield, BrOtheP-in-Law
of Joe Kline, Fatally Injured
by a Boys Coaster.

Mr. Joseph Kline was called to Seattle
by telegraph Wednesday, and left on that
evenings boat. The message stated that
his brother-in-law, Mr.. Moses Sommer-
field, was seriously injured and Mr.. Kline
lost no time in reaching the scene of the
disaster The particulars have just been
received, as published in the p l., and the
following account of the sad end of Mr..
Sommerfield ought to be / warning to all
coasters on public streets:
While coasting down the sidewalk on
Madison street from Tenth to N.nth yes
terday morning at 10 o'clock with child
companion, Warren HASTE, oldest son of
Prosecuting Attorney A. w. Haste, ran
into an old gentleman named Moses Som
merfield, knocking him down and causing
injuries that will prove fatal.
The accident was as peculiar as it was
unfortunate. The boy and little girl
companion named Jessie Armour had
been coasting for some time previous to
the accident, and had just started down
the steep, slippery sidewalk when the bt y,
who was kneeling on the rear end of the
sled steering, noticed a two-whee ed cart
on the crossing between Eighth and N nth
streets. He began to cry out to the
man in the cart to get out of the way,
so that the sled would not run into the
vehicle.
From the way in which the girl was sit
ting, the boy could only see on his left
and did not notice the old gentleman
coming up the hill. The sled was speed
ing along like a bullet, and when about
two-thirds down, struck Mr.. Sommerfield
just above the ankles and knocked him
down, the lack of his head violently strik-
ing the hard sidewalk, The sled kept
going on down the hill
Arthur w. Whalley, who was on an out
going Madison street car, saw the acci-
dent, jumped off the car and ran to Mr.
Sommerfield's assistance, being joined
soon after by several others. The injured
man regained consciousness sufficient to
complain that his head was hurting, and
with the assistance of the men that had
gathered was taken to j. B. Brooks resi-
dence at sol Madison street, where he
was attended to until the arrival of the
patrol wagon, when he was driven to po-
lice headquarters. DR.. Palmer, city ply
siclan, was summoned, and found Mr..
Sommerfleld in such a precarious conli
tion that he ordered him sent to Provi-
dence Hospital. At headquarters the in
jured man had several sinking fits, from
which it was difficult to rouse him.
When it was discovered that Mr.. Som
merfleld was seriously, If not fatally, hurt
some one telephoned to Mr.. Hastie, who,
with his deputy, Mr.. Morris, went to the
hospital and did everything possible Cor
the aged sufferer. Mr.. HASTE sent for
Ors. Horton and Shannon, and told the
Sisters in charge to give the injured man
every attention. During the afternoon
Drs. Palmer, Kline, Shannon and Horton
trepaned the injured mans skull, with
hope of relief, but were unsuccessful, and
pronounced the case hopeless. The pa
tient never reeained consciousness.
Mr.. Haste deplores the accident great
ly, and when his boy heard that the man
he ran into would die he went straight
to the hospital and in sobhing tones said
he was very sorry the accident happen
ed. He said he was doing his best to at
tract the attention of the man with the
cart and did not see Mr.. Sommerfield at
all.
A letter was found on Mr. Sommerfeld
adressed to the manager of the CONNER
cial Tea Company on Second street, OPP
nestle the Rialto, and inquiry at the place |
developed the fact that he had heen work- |
ing for that firm for over year as So
licitor, and had also worked for the Ri |
alto in the same connection He was well |
thought of by his employers and Is quite
a character He has travelled over all the
world, and undoubtedly has an interesting
history He rooms at 615 Yesler avenue.
His family consists of two daughters, as
near as can be found out, one of them
working in the family of w. r. O'Toole,
register of the United States land office,
and the other teaching school at the Neah
Bay Indian reservation.