The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1902-08-19
THE STORY OF The CHAUFFEUR
be Throws Additional Light on the Automo-
bile Accident.
tBy the Associated Press.l

(By the Associated Press.)
Paris, Aug. 16.-The chauffeur OF the
automobile in which Mr.. and Mrs. Charles
J.. Fair were killed. whose name is
brotey, returned to Paris his morning.
IN an interview with the correspondent
OF the Associated Press he threw some
further light on the cause Of the acct
dent. saying:
When we left Trouville, Mr.. Fair was
suffering from bronchial catarrh. He
coughed frequently on the road and dur
ing the fits of coughing his face was
much congested, evidently producing
slight dizziness. He had Just been
coughing when I noticed that the tire
of the hind wheel was debated. l
realized the danger and jumping to my
feet and leaning forward l shouted in
Mr.. Fairs ear in English. Stop, tire no
good Mr.. Fair glanced back, but he
did not reply. Apparently he tried to
stop, but IN doing so he must have made
the wrong steering movement, as the
machine swerved across the road and
went in a straight line for a tree. Mrs.
Fair, as she saw the direction the auto
mobile was taking, clasped her hus-
bands shoulder with her arm and turn
ed her face towards me with a look
which said plainly, We are lost The
next moment the crash came and | was
thrown into a field beside the road and
stunned. When l recovered, which l did
quickly, | limped to the side of my
master and mistress and with the help
of the chateau gatekeeper's wife extri-
Gated the bodies from the wreck"
Asked if either of them showed signs
of life, Brotey replied: They both
seemed to be dead. but l was in such a
dazed condition from shock and so affect
ed at the CHASTITY spectacle presented by
the wounds on the heads of both victims
that l did not notice whether either
moved or not. The gatekeeper's wife
said afterwards that MIR. Fair moved his
foot and that his wife moved her hand
as they lay on the ground, but l did not
see the movements The woman didn't
say whether Mr.. Fair or his wife stirred
last"
The bodies are due to arrive in Paris
at 3:55 this afternoon. They will be
deposited in the vault of the Church of
the Madeline until they are shipped to
the United States.
4 representative of the Associated
Press has Just returned to Paris from
the Chateau Buisson du Mai, at Evreux,
where a personal investigation into the
circumstances resulting in the deaths Of
Mr.. and Mrs. Fair was made. Nine.
Hourde, wife of the gatekeeper Of the
Chateau, who was an eye witness Of the
disaster, made the following statement
to him:
when the automobile crashed into the
trunk of the elm tree l saw the occu-
pants Of the carriage shoot into the air
to half the height of the tree. Then they
fell with a thud. Mr.. Fair was lying at
full length behind it, while his wife was
against its front, as though sitting hud-
died with her head leaning against the
tree. Mr.. Fair apparently was quite
dead. | took his wife's head in my
hands and gently laid the body fiat on
the grass. She did not give a sign of
life.
Il was looking at Mrs. Fair when |
saw the gloved fingers of one hand slow
ly opening. | turned to her husband and
found his foot moving, as though the
leg was drawing up. This frightened me
and I ran back to the lodge. When I
returned with my husband the bodies
were motionless and never stirred again. :
When asked if she could say whether
the movements Of the bodies she describ-
ed had lasted longer with Mr.. Fair than
with his wife, she replied:
They took place simultaneously I
was 100 unnerved to remain and watch
and ran back to the chateau. and when
l again saw the bodies they were Still, =
DR.. Perriquet, of the village Of Pacy
Sur Eure. who was summoned 10 attend
Mr.. and Mrs. Fair at tie time of tie &C
cident, said to etreDresentatiye CT the
Associated Press:
when 1 reached the spot a quarter of
an hour or so after the accident, both
Mr.. and Mrs. Fair were quite dead. and
l was convinced from the nature of he
wounds that death was instantaneous III
both cases. Mr.. Fair had his forehead
and the f%orepart of his skull completely
crushed, while the side of his wife's face
and her forehead were battered in as
though she had received a blow from 4
sledgc hammer"