The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-08-10
KILLED AT A DEPOT.
Old Grafton Man Met
An Awful Death
In Pawtucket.
WAS COMING HOME TO VISIT.
John Johnson's Train Hurled
Lewis Sumner Under
Wheels Of His Cars.
WAS COMING HOME TO VISIT.

Grafton, Aug. 9.-Lewis Sumner, Il
former well known and respected res
ident and native of this town, met a
shocking death at the Pawtucket de-
pot this morning. Mr.. Summers peril
was seen by many persons, who were
powerless to save his life, so suddenly
did it all happen.
The train which did the deadly work
was the Worcester train, which leaves
Providence at 500 o'clock in charge of
Conductor John Johnson and Engineer
Clark, and it was approaching the de-
pot from Providence when the old gen
tleman got in it's path. He had just
purchased a ticket for Farnums, the
nearest station on the Worcester road
to the destination of the man.
He was evidently deaf, as the clerk
in the ticket office says he placed his
hand to his ear when asking questions
about the time of the trains depar-
ture. Having procured his ticket, he
started to walk across the tracks in
front of the depot, taking the wooden
crosswalk leading from the gentlemen $
waiting room.
he Train Was LnGn que, ana as he
walked across the rails the many per-
sons standing on the platform and on
the opposite side of the tracks noticed
his danger and began to shout to him
to get out of the way. Among those
who noticed his danger and gave the
alarm was George H. Briggs, porter ar
the station, and as he saw that the
man paid no attention, he turned his
head to avoid the sight, for it was APP
parent that he would be struck. rhe
train was coming into the station at
the usual sharp rate of speed, and the
man could not be seen very we'll by tina
engineer from his position on the right
side of the cab.
The victim did not probably know
for an instant of the fate in store for
him, for the cowcatcher caught him
sharply, throwing him back against the
cylinder head of the locomotive, and
down he went and underneath the
wheels, the engine and the forward
trucks of the first car passing over rim,
so that death was almost instant. The
sight was one to sicken, as the man
gled mass was drawn from under the
cars and placed on a stretcher and TAX
en- into the small baggage room at the
end of the depot building. Here the
body was viewed by Medical Examiner
French.
At the time it was not known who the
victim was. A bundle of linen he car
rie9 was in neat and clean condition,
and the white handkerchief bore the
initials, IL S. while a new cake of
shaving soap among his effects showed
that it had probably been purchased
from George f. Pinkham, barber at
Central Falls, as the wrapper about the
soap bore his name. Everything about
the body indicated that the man was
about to take a trip somewhere on 3
visit, or was just returning, and in the
pockets was about $40 in money
The skull was badly fractured, and
the face was black from being scraped
over the blackened planks. The left
leg was gouged, and the flesh scraped
clean from the hip down, the foot being
severed and damned out of all SEM
blance to a foot, and it was probable
that there were other injuries which
the superficial examination did not dis
close. The medical examiner could not
find anything other than the initials on
the linen to indicate who the man was,
and he ordered the remains delivered to
Undertaken Clark to await an identi-
fication.
In the meantime ]. Perrie Evans
looked at the man and expressed the
opinion that it was Lewis Sumner, who
had been visiting his daughter Mrs.
Ella j. Walcott, at / Pacific street, Cen
trail Falls. Acting On the statement o..
the gentleman, word was sent to Mrs.
Walcott. and she established the iden-
LITIGATION.
Lewis Sumner was born in Grafton