Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-09-10
ACCIDENTAL DEATH
Verdict Of Jury in Case of Miss
Catharine Thomas.
KILLED BY METROPOLITAN R. R. CAR
lraInmen Regarded as Not Respon-
slbIe for the Occurrence.
THE EVIDENCE TAKEN

coroner Carr held inquest this after
iioo-i at the sixth precinct station in the
case OF MISS Cdtharine Thomas who was
Killed by a Metropolitan electric car on IL.
ee. thursday night Railroad officials
ana Mr. Thomas, father Of the young lady
We're present at the hearing. Miss Daver-
eauH' who was bicycle riding with Miss
Thomas at the time the fatal accident bar-
pened' was among The witnesses After
nearing the evidence the iurv rat,,rr.,s .
verdict OF accidental death. No blame was
attached to the men in char.ra az ,b. -,
The Trninmcn Testify.
W. F. Berry, who was motorman I'm
cfarge of the train when the accident oc-
CURED, was the first witness exs.p,ino4 "a,
tod the jury that about l3:47 O'Clock Thurs
DAY night when on A. street sourb,,,,s, D.,
tween Maryland avenue and c street he
saw two ladies riding bicycles. They wera
coming in the direction Of his car and he
rang his bell a number of times ia vvar,,
them 10 get OF the track but they paid no
attention. Then. he said he slowed dnvn
ana ms train was going at between five and
SIX miles an hour when the bicycle struck
the car. Miss Thomas ne said was tbrov1
against the car and was tossed over the
fender. NV
Did you say you rang your bcll?" in
quired a juror.
Il did," answered witness .apa a1s,
yelled at her"
Witness said when he saw the ladies'
made no effort TO turn of the track he
started to bring his II ain to a fun stop. and
had almost succeeded when the accident
happened
Conductor A. L. DeMontirredy testified
that just before the car reached C street
he saw some one on a bicycle aunroacnfnr
the He COuld ~ r.II 2 I'll
a gentleman or lady. The riders made no
effort TO get out of the way, he said. and
the motorman made an effort TO stop his
car.
Was the lady riding very fast?" the con-
dLctor was asked
Il couldn't tell
About what rate was your car making?"
when the accident occurred" answered
witness, the car had come almost to a
stop"
Are you sure the rlotorman rang the
bell?"
"Yes, sir"
Did you hear the motormau screaul2'
No, sir, but / heard the lady scream"
Witness said that wheelmen frequently
ride on the tracks near the car TO frighten
the men in charge.
Passengers Evidence.
c. L. Skinner, resident of South Wash
ington, a passenger on the car. explained
what he saw Of the sad affair He said he
was sitting on the second seat of the front
car. The motornan rang the bell and wit
ness looked out but saw nobody. Soon after
the ringing of the bell was commenced the
motorman started to reduce the speed ard
Just before the car came to a stop the acci-
dent occurred. When witness heard the
crash, which followed by the break
ing or glass, he got out and picked the
young lady up from under the running
board. After the accident happened the
car ran ahead about six feet.
Another Eyewitness.
James J. Hayre testified that he was a
passenger on the car at the time of the ac-
cident. The young lady was riding in the
center Of the track. Witness heard the
motorman when he rang the bell and also
heard him call to the young lady. He
thought the car was going at an unusually
slow rate of speed. Witness thought the
young lady did not have time to get out
OF the way after she saw the was so
close TO her.
DR., Ruffiu testified that he examined the
body at the hospital yesterday and found
severe fracture of the base of the brain.
Shock and hemorrhage resulting from the
fracture caused her death Her injuries
were necessarily fatal. An operation, he
said. could not have saved her life.
w. o. Brown, colored, testified that he
heard the motorman yell TO the young lady
on the bicycle. Witness assisted the young
lelus Stl4 4it SOdLu siANSi SllS W sS lilJuI
Requests for Additional Testimony.
This closed the testimony. and the case
was submitted to the jury. Mr. Thomas,
father of the deceased, was present and, at
his request, additional testimony was
heard.
Miss Mary Devereux, who was with Miss
Thomas, testified that when she saw the
car coming she was about fifteen feet from
it. They were not talking. Witness de-
clared that there was no bell sounded.
Did you hear the motorman when he
yelled?' asked the coroner.
There was not a sound uttered until |
called to my friend
Witness said she was riding behind a
northbound car at the time of the accident.
Miss Thomas wore glasses.
When questioned by Mr.. Coleman Of the
railroad company, witness said she had
been at the arsenal with friends. Some of
them were on the car going north, behind
which she was riding.
Witness said she thought Miss Thomas
was watching the slot upon which she was
riding There Were two cars close together,
said witness, and Miss Thomas had just
gotten out of the way of one car when
she rode in front Of the other. She thought
the cars We're at least half square apart.
Mr.. Thomas told the jury that his daugh-
ter was nearsighted. This why she
wore glasses. There were no other wit