The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-15
JURY CAN'T AGREE
Is UNABLE TO DECIDE AvANT'S
GUILT OR INNOCENCE.
MISTRIAL LOOKED 70
FOR.
MoTORMAN FACED JURY FOR
DEATH OF LITTLE CHILD.

II
edy Occurred at West Broad and
Bryan Streets, Last August-The
Parents GruesOme story of Their
Boys Death-A witness on the
Rack-Avant, the Defendant, Made
a Good Statement in His own Be
half.
A Jury in the Superior Court still has
in its hands the fate of Thomas l..
Avant, the trolley car motorman who
was placed on trial yesterday for the
offense of Involuntary manslaughter.
The jury has been out since $50 o'clock
yesterday afternoon, and at an early
hour this morning there was neither
agreement nor the probability of agree
ment A mistrial is expected.
Aug. Is, last, Avant was motorman
of car 11S, which ran over and killed
the 5-year-old son of Eugene M. Ba-
ker, A West Broad street druggist.
In the opinion of the jury at the coro-
ner's inquest Avant had been Grim
inaIly careless in the management OF
the car. and a finding to this effect
was returned similar view of the
matter was taken by the grand jury
who indicted Avant for involuntary
manslaughter.
He faced petit jury in the Superior
Court yesterday Because of his con-
nection with the street railway COM
pany as general counsel Solicitor GEN
eraI Osborne did not feel he was quail
fed to conduct the prosecution, and
Judge H. d. D. Twiggs represented the
state. The defendant was represented
by Col P. w Meldrim.
The father and mother were among
the witnesses who testified for the state
as to the manner in which their little
one met his, death. Mr.. Baker said
he was standing in front of his store,
which is on the corner of West Broad
and Bryan streets, at the time of the
accident. His wife and three children,
the eldest child only about years old,
got off a northbound West Broad street
car and started across the street.
His ChiId's MangIed Body.
A scream from his wife drew his at
tention directly towards them and he
saw her then, her hair and dress dis
hevelled, pointing excitedy under the
wheels of a car that had rapidly APP
preached from the opposite direction.
Baker ran across the street, and under
the wheels found the dead and man
gled body of his child. Not spark
of life was left in the little body.
Mrs. Baker gave evidence to the
same general effect. She said that
when she had got off the northbound
car she had started across the street,
carrying one of her children in her
arms and leading another by the hand.
The eldest child had walked a little
ways ahead.
This boy had started across the track
before his mother became aware of
the rapid approach of car
from the south. which had come up at
a high rate of speed and without a
gong being rung or any other indi-
cation being given of its dangerous
proximity. Mrs. Baker reached out to
grasp her son and bring him to safety
but she was too late. The little body
was rolled up like a bundle of rags
beneath the deadly wheels. She her
self was struck by the running board
of the car, felled to the ground and
painfully injured.
The witness swore that Avant had
not rung his gong to announce his APP
proach and had made no effort to stop
his car until after it had struck the
child.
CAF OEeW lnOlHerenN.
other witnesses added their evidence
for the state. They estimated the speed
at which the car was running at from
Is to 25 miles an hour declared posi-
lively that no gong had been sounded
by Avant and that after the accident
both the motorman and the conductor
had sat on their respective ends of the
car in seeming supine indifference.
making no effort to assist the father
in removing from under the wheels
the mangled body of his boy.
The city ordinance regulating the
speed of trolley cars, which declares
they shall not move at a higher rate
of speed than six miles an hour north
of Liberty street, was read to the jury.
and with this evidence the state closed
its case.
The evidence for the defense was not
at all to the same effect. The defend
ants witnesses testified that Mrs Bak-
er had been warned of the approach of
the other car when she got off the
one on which she had been riding; that
Avant had sounded his gong repeatedly
between Bay and Bryan streets; that
the car was not going at higher rate
of speed than four or five miles an
hour, and generally that the death of
the little boy had been due to his own
failure to understand the extent of the
danger. He had, said these witnesses,
run directly in front of the car, when
it was only few feet away and when
it was a matter of physical impossi-
bility for the motorman to have pre-
vented the accident.
One witness there was who was g
star. This was ]. A Collins, who was
placed on the stand by the defense.
Whether from stupidity or some other
cause he created an unfavorable i'm
preston from the first, even while he
was being examined by Col. Meldrim,
and under the effect of the drastic
cross-examination of Judge Twiggs he
probably wished before it was all over
he had never been born.
Collins started out by saying that
he was engaged in making a horse
trade shortly before the accident,
standing with the other party to the
trade at the corner of st. Julian and
West Broad street. He saw Mrs
Baker and her children short block
away, saw the child start across the
rtacks and the mother reach out as
if to draw him back-and then he had
climbed in fhis friends wagon and been
driven away. He saw nothing of the
accident whatever.
This remarkable statement was
drawn from the witness only by the
exercise of almost superhuman exer-
tions on the part of Col. Meldrim, and
after he had insisted half a dozen
times that counsel read his statement
at the coroner's inquest and let it go
at that.
Witness on the Rack.
Then Jrtdere rTvvioes besran lniS cross