The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-21
STRUCK by A STREET CAR.
Mrs. Patrick Barrett Seriously Tn
iured.

Mrs. Patrick barrett Seriously I'm
iured.
Through the collision Of car 25 of the
| Savannah, Thunderboit and Isle of Hope
Railway with the buggy in which she was
| driving at noon yesterday, Mrs. Patrick
Barrett was thrown to the ground and re-
! ceived severe gashes and contusjons about
the face, head and body. Varying ac-
counts ascribe various causes for the ac-
cident and fix the responsibility on both
the motorman of the car and on the one
who was injured.
Mrs Barrett resides with her husband,
Mr.. P. Barrett at Ill West Broad street,
and il was almost directly in front of the
door of her dwelling that the accident took
pace. She had driven from the stables of
NJ. Fersfs Sons & Co, in which the trap
was kept and started across the street
north in the direction of Broughton. At
this time Mr.. Barrett and other eye-wit-
nesses of the accident say, the car was
opposite Margaret street, about 200 feet
away. A heavy grocery truck blocked the
west side of the street, so that it was
necessary for Mrs. Barrett to go diagonal
ly across West Broad in order to clear this
obstruction, and proceed on the right side
of the street, as the law requires.
1t Is further the testimony of these wit
nesses that Mrs. Barrett had not entire
ly crossed the track before the buggy was
struck by the car. They say that the
motorman never sounded the gong until
after the collision had occurred and made
no effort to stop the car until Ii was al
most upon the buggy and It's occupant. He
did not succeed in stopping il in time to
prevent the occurrence of the accident.
The car struck the right rear wheel of
the buggy. tearing it from the axle and
overturning the buggy. Mrs. Barrett was
thrown under its ruins and had it not
been that the horse she was driving is
an exceedingly gentle one and far from
easily frightened, there would have been
a runaway and a death. As il is, her in
juries, while painful and severe and ac-
companied almost by prostration from the
excitement and fright incident to the oc-
curTenee. are not esteemed dangerous. 1t
Is believed that she will soon recover ana
vii. experience no injurious after effects
of the accident.
The officers of the street railway COM
pany tell a different tale of the manner in
which the accident occurred, ascrlbing it
TO the carelessness and negligence of Mrs.
Barrett At the time the car was in
charge of Conductor Lloyd and Motorman
Strickland and lie is from their reports
end from the statements of passengers on
the car that the officers have formed their
opinion of the cause and manner of the
collision. They say that Mrs Barrett had
crossed the track entirely and that she
was proceeding down West Broad street
on the east side of the track upon which
the car was running. Shorty before the
car came up, travelling at the usual rate
of speed she turned deliberately across
the track and directly in front of the car.
This was when the car was too close TO
permit of its being stopped in time TO pre-
vent the collision. which then became in
evitshle The railway officials say they
absolve their conductor and motorman of
all blame in the matter.
Mr. Barrett points out what he con-
tends are fatal weaknesses in the position
taken by the company. In the first place,
he says, the car was going al least ten or
twelve miles an hour instead of five or
SIX, as the railway people contend. In
stead of being nearly upon Mrs. Barrett
when she started 10 cross the track 1t
was some distance away. To show that
she had not started again to cross the
track, but was not yet across when the
collision occurred he cites the fact that
1t was the right rear wheel of the buggy
that was struck and broken. Had Mrs.
Barrett started 20 cross from the east side
of the track to the west, as the railway
people contend, instead of being In the
oct of crossing from west to east, as Mr..
Jarrett says was the case. the direction
IN both cases being diagonal he submits
that IL would have been the left front
wheel, and not the right rear wheel that
would have been first struck in the col
lision.
AS a further instance of the excitement
under which the motorman is said by
MIR. Barrett and others who uphold his
and his wife's side of the controversy to
have labored, they submit that he rang
his gong not at all until after the collision,
and then sounded 1t with great energy and
determination. They say that after the
accident. when the buggy was thrown to
the ground and Mrs. Barrett under its
dismantled body. the motorman made no
effort to render assistance, but stood star
ing in awed establishment at the work Of
destruction his car had accomplished. The
friends of Mrs, Barrett, who give this as
the fact of the case. prefer to ascrihe
the motormans inactivity under the cir
cumstances to stupefaction, rather than
to Indifference.
When talked to about the matter, Mr..
Barrett gave every Indication of indigna-
the negligence with which he charged Mo-
torman Strickland Mr., Barrett intimated
that the case would be taken into the
courts.
WILL BE DISAPPOINTED.