The times., 1898-12-03
THE ROAD NEGLIGENT
The Jury's Verdict in the Ivy
City Accident.
THE GATEMAN IN JAIL
The Evidence Shows That the Road
Was CareIess-CrOssing Was Poor
ly Gunrdcd-The Company and the
Waterman Subjects of Censure-
Grand Jury to Investigate.


After listening three hours to the testi-
| mony OF the witnesses in the case, the
coroner's jury decided that George Gray
and Fannie Harrison, the children killed
by being struck by train on the Balti-
more and Ohio Railroad at the Ivy City
crossing, came to their death through the
criminal negligence of Gatekeeper Will
liam A Keys, and that the railroad CON-
pany should be censured for maintaining
defective gates.
Keys was arrested Thursday night by
Policeman Sam. Brown and locked up at
No. station house Late yesterday aft
liceman Brown.
The jurors and witnesses, together with
the attaches of the coroner's office. as
sembled at the Sixth Precinct station
house at II O'Clock yesterday morning for
the inquest. The jury was sworn in by
Deputy Coroner Glazebrook in the
morgue and returned to the squad room
in the station house.
The first witness, Deputy Coroner
Glazebrook. told the jury of the finding
of the bodies, their condition when found
and the direct causes of death. Engineer
Peters, of the train which struck the car
riage containing the children, knew very
little of the accident. He did not see
the carriage until just before the acci-
dent and reversed his engine as soon as
possible.
William A. Keys, gateman at the
crossing, said the gates on the side of
the track where his box is located We're
always down: that when anyone wanted
| to cross he raised them. When the
carriage turned the corner of the road.
some distance from the station, the wit
ness thought the horse became unman-
ageable. The animal struck the gates
with his head throwing them up and
passing under them. When the middle
of the track was reached the horse stop
ped and the train struck the vehicle. He
said he was about to lower the gates on
the other side of the track, but noting
that the driver could not manage the
horse he did not His reason for keep
ing the gates on his side of the track
down was that engines We're constantly
passing and he could not see that side of
the road to warn those wishing to cross.
The witness told Attorney Z. b. Hay.
| who represented the family of the dead
boy, when cross-examined, that he could
| not have warned the driver i'm time 20
avert the tragedy. The electric bell 1T
| the station was ringing and thTt was
| considered sufficient warning. The wit
| ness said he was formerly telegraph
| operator for the railroad, but was re-
| duced to gatekeeper for allowing train
| to stop by forgetting the proper signal
Harry Mcdonald, the driver of the car
riage, testified that he was not driving
very fast, having to turn a sharp corner.
The gateman gave no warning. The gates
were down after the carriage was struck.
The horse could not have passed under
the gates. When he saw the train he at
tempted to turn the horse. but could not.
The gates were up and the bell was not
| ringing.
p. ]. Hanley, a special policeman re-
| siding at No. 1914 Twelfth Street north
east, and Policeman Sam Brown. of the
| Ninth precinct, also testified, the latter
having been assigned TO investigate the
| accident The latter found that the gates
were not in perfect condition.
James Atwell Gray, the nine-year-old
| brother of one of the victims, saw the
| gate on the other side Of the track low
cred and raised again. The gate on the
side toward which they We're coming was
| up and was lowered after the carriage
was on the track
| James A. Clark was standing at the door
| of the watch box at the time of the acci-
! dent. He did not see the collision. The
| gate on the opposite side of the track, he
said, was down when the accident oc-
CURED. The rod which prevented the
| gate from striking the ground was off at
the time of the accident, he said.
| Additional testimony was given by
George Beatley. an employe of the rail-
road; William Lyles. coiored, who was a
bystander; James Smallwood, a railroad
employe; John Virtue, an engineer, and
d. McTilton.
The coroner's jury reached the following
| verdict:
George II. Gray came to his death De-
| cember /, 1898, at the Ivy City crossing
| of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, from
injuries received from being struck by an
| express train on the Baltimore and Ohio
| Railroad We believe that the gate was
| defective and that the gateman was neg
| lectful of his duty, and recommend that
| he be held for the investigation of the
| grand jury
| William A Keys, the gateman, was COM
| mitted to Jail in default of bond at 2:25
| o'clock yesterday afternoon.