The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-08-30
Judge Timmony Finds the Evidence
Against Him insufficient.
CONFLICT OF TESTIMONY
EUGENE FRAUGHBER AND mr.
SAUER DO NOT AGREE.
The Defendant Goes On the Stand
and Tells the Story of the Acct
dent That Resulted In the Death
of Young Halsett = One Witness
Saw the Horse Pass at a Gailop.

After hearing the evidence in the case
against Max Seufert, charged with in
| voluntary manslaughter in running
down and causing the death of George
Halsett, Aug. q. Judge Timmony de-
cided that there was not sufficient
probable cause to justify binding him
over to the district court, and accord
| ingly he was dismissed. County Attor-
ney Van Colt shared in the same opin-
| ion and so expressed himself to the
court D. n. Straup examined the wit
nesses in behalf of the defendant.
| The testimony of the two leading wit
nesses for the state, L. Sauer, 304 State
street, and E. Traughber, a Tribune re
| porter, was somewhat at variance,
which weakened the case in the eyes of
| the court. They were standing together
| in front of the Miller hotel on State
and Third South, Sunday evening, Aug.
q, and saw the accident, but took
quite an opposite view of attaching the
blame. Mr.. Sauer remembered having
seen a one-horse buggy, with two men,
pass the hotel minute before the ac
cident. He did not take particular no
tice OF them, but thought they were not
going very rapidly He could not posi-
lively identify the outfit as the same
that collided with the boy, He went to
the scene of the accident with TrauSh-
! ber and his view of the collision was
that each was trying to get out of the
| others way.
| Mr.. Traughber's testimony, on the
other hand, was decidedly damaging
] to Seufert. He said the horse came
down State street on the gallop and not
under the control of Seufert, who was
holding the lines loosely. He watched
the vehicle as it passed down the
street, believing that a collision would
occur, and being on the lookout for 2
newspaper story. After crossing Third
South, Seufert turned the horse to the
left, going behind a south bound street
car. He next pulled the line to the
right towards the Ricketts, block, and
then to the left again, when the right
shaft struck young Haisett, who was
coming up the street on the west side
of the car track. He fell about where
the asphalt Joined the pavement, in
front Of Denhalter's establishment.
DR.. Niles testified TO having held an
autopsy of the body of HalSett, and
described the character of the injuries.
The shaft had broken loose the seventh,
eighth and ninth ribs from the breast
bone. injurng the liver. from which
hemorrhage had formed in the pleural
cavity, pressing upward the lungs. a
rupture had occurred, letting the fluid
fall into the peritoneal cavity, causing
death. His advice had been asked the
morning before Halsett died, and he
recommended his removal to the hos
pital, and that an operation be per-
formed If the patient rallied sufficiently.
When asked if he thought a previous
operation would have saved his life, the
doctor smilingly answered that he was
not acquainted with the case before
that morning.
]. W. Langley testified that he was
sitting in front of the Miller hotel and
saw the horse pass on a gallop. The
men were sitting erect but the lines
We're loose and his attention was at
tracted to it as being loose driving.
Harry Newman, Steve Newman and
Roy Forman saw the collision, and their
story of the accident indicated that
Seufert and Halsett were trying to
pass each other.
Policeman Hempel was coming north
in front of the Lion drug store and did
not see the accident He called to Seu-
fert three times before he stopped, but
he was not driving fast.
The testimony of Susie Booth, Ada
Hewitson and Anna Minor, all of whom
We're standing at 53S State street, was
quite favorable TO Seufert. According
to them the bicycle which the boy was
riding was too large and he could only
reach the pedals as they came up
WHICH caused MIN 10 SldnCe uONH- OeQ-
fert, they said, was coming down the
west side on trot. having crossed
from the east side behind a car going
north. He turned to the right to avoid
the boy, who just then swerved in
front of the horse, and was struck by
the shaft. They said the boy was not
a good bicycle rider.
Seufert testified that he was driving
man named Griffith to the city and
county building. and that his horse was
a little excited and jumped occasion
ally, but was under his control.
AT the knutsford the horse turned
across the car tracks, but was brought
back to the west side. When about 90
feet away he pulled to the right to es-
cape the boy, who turned in front of
him and was struck. The horse plunged
forward and went 100 yards before he
could stop him. He said to Griffith: L
think that boy is hurt" He tied his
horse and went back.
On cross-examination Seufert ad-
mitted that he had drank a glass of
beer, but was not intoxicated.
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