New-York tribune., 1903-03-11
A. R. PENNELL KILLED.
4 BURDICK CASE FIGURE.
Goes Over Cliff in Automobile
Wife Dangerously Hurt.

the chief figures in the Investigation Of the mur-
| der OF E. L. Burdck. was hurled headlong to his
| death late this afternoon. PeInell was out rid
| ing in his electric automobile with Mrs. Pennell.
| They were in Kensington-ave.. near Fillmore
| ave-, skimmng along the edge OF the Genres
| stone quarry, which is huge rock ribbed hole
| in the ground on the right side Of the avenue
going out. Mr. PepneIl's hat blew off, the auto
mobile swerved, and in some inexplicable man
ner it leaped over the curb into the abyss be-
low. Pennell killed instantly his head
being crushed to an unrecognzable mass. Mrs.
Pennell injured 80 severely that the sur
geons at the Sisters Hospital said her chances
of recovery were slight
Two boys saw the tragedy. They were too far
away to know positively just how 1t happened.
Mrs. Pennell when found was unable to speak.
She only semi conscious when taken to the
hospital, and could speak coherent words.
After the operation, performed Immediately by
Dr. Eugene Smith in the hope OF saving her life.
she lapsed into unconsciousness and hence there
be no true version of precisely how the ac
| cident occurred.
Mr.. Pennell left his Office in the Austin Build
| ing at 4:O5 o'clock this afternoon. He went to
his home at No. 2OS Cleveland-ave. A friend
| who called up Mr.. Pennell on the telephone about
| 5 o'clock was informed that Mr.. Pennel in.
but that he was just going out for drive. He
| informed the friend that he would be back be-
tween $50 and 4 o'clock. and made an appoint
| ment with him for that hour. He told the maid
| the thing
! 1t was learned tonight that the matter men
| toned in the telephone talk something he
considered most serious and which weighed
heavily upon him It in connection with
| the Burdick case. To a reporter some days ago
| he said: About this case of Burdck. 1 have
| told the authorities 1 went to New-York before
he nd foaf 7 met Mrs wi
I was away. In fact, 1 Mrs. Burdick near
| New-York two or three days before the murder
of Mr. Burdck. I came home again on Wednes-
day, the day before the murder. have told 1t
frankly, and the meeting a proper one
But they seem determined to drag all this busi
ness out in the papers. l would do anything to
stop it,"
Pennell and his wife left their home at 40
o'clock. Rain was falling. and the streets were
slippery. 1t was wretched day for man to
take his wife out for an automobile ride. Par
ticularly was 1t a woful day for one in search
of pleasure to go automobng out In the lonely
northeast section. Mr.. Pennell expert
at handling the machine, and was experienced
as to its management. His maid says that he
bought it last summer He kept it In the Utica
st. station in West Utica, between Delaware and
Elmwood avenues. It to this station that
he said he went between 7:45 and $50 o'clock
own home at bout 10 o'clock.
So far could be learned he never had any
accidents. He and his wife had ridden together
often in the automobile. All that was un-
usual about it, said the maid. "was that Mrs
Pennell always told me when they would be in
so 1 would know when to have dinner ready.
But to-day when they went out it was Mr.. Pen
nell who told me- Mrs. Pennell went on out
ahead of him, and he came back and called me
and o'clock 1 said. All right. and they
went out
Mrs. Pennell has been loyal to her husband
throughout his trying experience of the last
ten days. She frequently said that her faith
in him unshaken and that she would stick
to him to the end
The only witnesses of the first events at
the quarry were George ]. Dunbar and William
Lannen, bout twenty-one years old. who
on their way home from work, walking toward
Fillmore-ave- in Kensington-ave when MI
and Mrs. Pennen in their automobile ap-
preached them from the rear
Dunbar's story of what happened is as fol-
lows
viii OLennen) and l walking toward
Fillmore-ave., on Kensington-aVe, when we
heard the in the automobile ring. We
looked back The automobile was coming toward
US, going the same way We were Whel! ne
rang first they quite way behind Us,
but they were travelling quite fast. we We're
walking near the curb on the north side of
the street and the automile was coming down
the centre of the street.
We saw were out of the way, ard con-
tinued our walking. Then the man rang again,
but we did not turn around. A third time he
rang, and we both turned around again to look
back
AT that time the automobile was only about
fifty wards behind US l turned around just III
time to see the mans hat in the air. did not
see his hand go up after the hat, but saw the
hand coming down. Just at that instant the
machne turned sharply to the left AT that
point there is no sidewalk either side of the
ctra
Drinks of the two quarries is only few rect
/ should say for long strip. at the place "hefe
the mans hat was blown off. the ledge or nat
ground between the curb and the brink OF the
quarry into which the automobile went is only
about six or seven feet. There is no railing or
other guard around the edge of the quarry.
When the automobile turned sharply to the
left we both stopped. 1t was all done SO quickly
nobody had chance to do anything. The ma
chine was going quite fast, and in an instant IL
had covered the distance from the middle OF
the street, where it first was. TO the curb 1t
was going too fast to stop, and after going over
the curb it went intO the quarry.
Neither the man nor the woman IN the auto
mobile stood up or jumped out l guess II all
was done % sudden 20 take any such action l
automobiles front wheels struck the curo L did
not hear the man say anything.
"WiIl to call the ambulance and sot
down in. the quarry. Tn" woman was eToih-
ing Some but the man was dead. The woman
WIS living between the base of the cliff and the
automobile. AS I remember. she was lying on
her left side and she had bad cut on
the forehead /. The man was lying under the
auton1ohe and about all | could see OF hiol
was part of his face and he Id The automo-
bile was lying with the back as base. apout
seven or eight feet from the base OF the cl1H.