San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-11-24
CRUSHED BY A GAR.
An Eight Year Old Child
Killed Today.
WAS GOING TO SCHOOL WHEN
THE TERRIBLE ACCIDENT
OCCURRED.
Her Head Was Completely Crushed
To A Pulp. The Car Passing
Over Her-lt Was An
Unavoidable Accident
The Details.

the trolley car mas caused lhe uedlh
of another innocent child in this city.
This morning at o'clock little Hat
tie Wilburn, while going to school was
run over by trolley car No. 55 of the
San Antonio street car line and in
stantly crushed to death.
The deplorable tragedy occurred on
South Alamo street, between Johnson
and Guenther streets, just where the
single track leading up from the Aran-
sas Pass depot merges into a double
track, in front of the Dreiss and Gold
stein residences.
The little one left her home, which is
a shanty in the rear of Olsen 81 Sons
wood yard on Alamo street, where her
mother who takes in washing for liv
happy, bright, little school girl she al
ways was,and after bidding her mother
good bye, gaily tripped off to school as
is her custom every morning about us
o'clock, ali unmindful of the terrible
fate that was to befall her ere she
reached her destination, or even ere
she had hardly gotten out of reach of
her mothers watchful eye.
She started up Alamo street and just
after crossing the river, she caught
hold of the rear end of a large wagon
which was passing at the time, as chill
dren are apt to do and continued to
walk there until the vehicle got even
with the switch already mentioned,
when she quickly stepped from behind
it, only to step directly in front of the
monster street car which crushed her
life out in a second, passing entirely
over her head, completely MASKING it
into pulp.
The car was in charge of Motorman
]. w. Cowles, but the accident on his
part, according to the statement of pas
sengers, was wholly unavoidable as his
car was running at the slow rate
of speed, it is compelled to on ap-
preaching switch, and when the
doomed child stepped from behind the
wagon she stepped directly in front of
the car almost against the dashboard,
too near to be saved by human effort.
The wagon was coming toward the
city and the car was going toward the
depot, thus completely obscuring the
child from view, before she stepped
from behind the wagon.
AS soon as the accident occurred Po-
lice officer McCabe who was on the
front platform of the car at the time,
notified Coroner Phil. Shook, who view
ed the remains and had them removed
to an undertaker's establishment.
A Light reporter arrived on the scene
shortly after the accident and Witness
ed one of the most horrible sights he
ever beheld. There lay the little ones
body alongside the track with no sign
of a head, only a mass of crushed
bones, flesh and brains on the track be-
ing left. Her school books, pencils,
etc, were scattered about the place and
altogether it was a very heartrending
scene.
After viewing the remains the report
er sought the little ones mother, at her
home a few blocks below and inter
viewed her She lives in little one
room shanty in the ouisatche brush in
the rear of Olsen & Sons wood yard,
as already mentioned, the place being
off to the east a considerable distance
from Alamo street. The mother was
sitting on the front gallery with several
neighbors about her offering words of
coincidence. Lying all about were
rough dried clothes, on which she had
been engaged in ironing when informed
of the terrible tragedy. She said: My
name is Percy Lee Woller. / have been
married twice. My little girl who was
killed was by my first husband and her
name is Hattie wilbur. She is seven
years old, would soon have been eight.
She left home as usual at 7:l5 this
morning and that was the last saw of
her alive. She was going to school to
the Garden street free school, where
she has been going for about a year.
make a living by washing and iron
ing. 1 and my second husband do not
live together. Soon after Hattie left l
went to a neighbours to borrow some
irons and when l returned an officer
was here to notify me that my darling
baby had been killed. She is my only
child. My husbands name is Nicholas
Woller. He is a gardener"
Judge Shook will hold the inquest as
soon as he can get the witnesses into
his court; perhaps this afternoon.