The morning news., 1899-12-03
SUES FOR HUSBANDS DEATH.
MRS. MARY sTURTEvANT WANTS
$2O,OOO DAMAGES FROM Il. c.
AND p. RAILROAD.

$20,OUO DAMAGES FROM Il. c.
AND p. RAILROAD.
Case Was Brought Originally in City
Court of brunswick and Transfer
red to the Circuit Court OF the
United States for This District he
cause of the Residence of the Par
ties i'm Different StRtes-The De-
fendant Claims TO BE a Citizen of
FIoridn-SturteVnut Was "a Brake
man on the Road, Who Was Killed
in an Accident at Everett city. in
Last July. N#H
The case of Mary Sturtevant against the
Florida Central and Peninsular Railroad
was filed in the United States Circuit
Court on yesterday. The suit is for dam
ages in the amount of $4,000 which the
petitioner asks for the death of her hus-
band VINO was killed in an accident on the
road of the defendant company on July l6
last
The case was originally brought in the
City Court of Brunswick by Messrs. Twiggs
& Oliver. the attorneys for the defendant.
1t has been transferred to the United
States District Court upon the motion OF
the defendant, who alleges that the cor
poration is not a resident of Georgia, but
of the state of Florida, and that the case
therefore should be brought there The
appearance in the state court is for the
purpose of removal merely, a special ap-
pearance as stated in the petition and the
fO pln To bn
Circuit Court of the United States for
the Southern district of Georgia is no,
waived
The petition alleges that the husband of
the petitioner, William r. Sturtevant. was
for two years in the employ of the com.
pany and during the latter part of his
life had been working as rear brakeman
or tagman on one of the freight trains
operated by the defendant between Jack
sonvilie and Savannah In the course of
such employment and as part of the duties
required of him by the defendant, he was
expected to couple and uncouple tfle cars
on the rear of the train and to guide and
direct them properly whenlit became nee.
essary TO attach other cars TO the train
that had already been made up.
The petition further AYERS that on the
night of July l6, the freight train on VIII CHI
the husband of the petitioner was employ
ed had reached Everett City, Fla, on its
way from Jacksonville to Savannah. and
had stopped for a time at that p ace The
purpose of the stop was to drill a coal car
from the train 10 a spur track at Everett
and he husband of he petitioner had b en-
detached for this duty.
The inten ion was to detach the car from
the train at the entrance to the spur ira k
and TO pelmt it TO attain its destined sit
uation by the force of it's own momentum.
1t Is charged that the momentum of the
car when detached from the train was not
sulhcient to take il 90 the pos lion on the
spur Il ack intended and desired and 1t be-
came necess ary for some member of the
crew of the train TO look after 1T while the
engine and other cars pushed It further
down the track. To this duty, Sturtevant
was detailed
1t IS c. aged in the petition that while
Siurtevant was engaged in removing a
coupl ng pin from the coal car and was
STOPPING over for this purpose, the engine
and other cars of the train bore rapidly
down up n HIM. When he had last seen
the train it had been sufficiently far away
TO remove the possibility of danger and the
fagman had anticipated none al tall.s The
result was that the wheels of the coal car
was pushed over and upon the hagman.
mangling and crushing his body and caus-
ing his instant death.
II ~ charged tndt the death of Sturte-
want was due to the carelessness and neg
ligence of the servants and agents of the
defendant company and was not coatrl-
buted to at all by any act of Sturtevant.
He, it is alleged had exercised all reason
able, and proper care and precaution and
was not at all responsible for the unfor-
tunate accident that caused his death,
The fireman and other brakemen of the
train, whose charged negligence contr-
buted Immediately TO the accident ought
to have been in a position to understand
the results of their carelessness and that
there could have been no other result than
that which followed The husband of the
petitioner, on the other hand, had no no
tice or warning at ALL and his lfe was
crushed out of him before he had been
permitted a realizing sense Of the dan
ger that impended.
The petition shows that at the time of
his death the husband of the petitioner
was earning a salary of $45 a month and
that he had a reasonable life expectancy
of 1886 years. 1t is averred that he was
an experienced railroad man. having been
some six years in the business, and that
he was on the verge of the promotion to
which his mental. moral and physical
qualifications entitled him, at the time of
his death.
The order directing the removal Of the
case from the City Court Of Brunswick to
the Circuit Court of the United S ates is
approved by Judge Samuel C. Atkinson.
1t is improbable that the case will be call-
ed during the session of the court that
convenes tomorrow,
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