Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1904-11-29

''f>>N' ouu NltnOllt A,te
piecaution. Accordingly to Mr.. Thomn-
son. ar. Copp. when he started II
cross The track on Western avanua
had III accordance with the orf,irary
run of things. lots of time to get across
He could See no car coming and st.rt
ing across the track was caught ~, !,
car. going at an excessive rate ~
speed. He said he hoped to prove th;s
III evidence. as the load Weighing soo1
pounds and the pair of horses weigh
ing 5000, had been pushed in front az
the car a distance of some so feet
which then came to halt ONLY whom
the forward trucks had left the rails
At the conclusion of Attorney
Th"mpson'S opening argument the
court adjourned its session until . "a
o'clock. During the intervening time
the Judge. jury and counsel repaired to
the scene OF the accident. for the mr.
pose of locating the exact position. etc.
tina, viii be brought forth during the
hearing.
Superintendent Taylor of the
Augusta. Winthrop & Gardiner Street
Railway. Was called by the plaintiff
Mr.. Taylor has been superintendent of
the road over eight years. In regard to
the accident he knew nothing more
than he had heard and his testimony
was confined t. the workings of the
cars ON this branch of the line. The
car. No. IL. which caused the accident.
vas one of the four wheeled, open cars
known as the hour car from Ham
mond'S Grove and was in charge of
W. nd Ma 81
mer. This car was due on Water street
at 30 p. NJ. and was. according to
Mr.. TaylGr's testimony. not the fastest
of the cars on this line.
Alphonse Gay, local contractor.
MI. Cops employer. at the time OF the
accident. was the next witness. Mr..
Gay had Il contract to haul gravel to
the Lincoln street SchoolhOuSe and had
employed AIR Copp rs a driver and Il
two-horse dump ear. At the time Of
the accident witness was slightly
:,head OF Mr.. topp, some five rods. and
hearing shouts. turned around i'll time
10 see the car come to a standstill The
fore Part of the car was battered and
Splintered and the forward trucks We're
off the track. With the exception of
one wheel the cart was demolished. and
the horses. While not sustaining Sc
were injuries, were somewhat lame.
When the witness; Went back to the
scene he found M. Copp lying close to
the rear trucks. his head just inside
the south rail and his feet over the
north rail. He WAS severely injured
and was Immediately taken to the City
hospital.
Witness in cross examination adj
mitted that he had not listened for the
whistle of the cars and further thai
the carts made considerable noise.
Henry F. Pease Of Manchester, the
next witness. was engaged at work III
the Forest Grove cemetery on the af
ternOon of Aug. Il. Mr.. PeaSe SAW thu
car approaching and followed its
course down the street. His vision was
someW hat obscured. and owing to Il
fence could see only the top Of the car.
lie did not see the accident, but hetr-
ing a crash and shouting. he ran down
to the scene. Here he assisted in
placing Mr.. Copp under the shade trees
near the street. Later. when the am
bulance arrived. he went to the City
hospital. for the purpose of looking ar
ter MIR. COpp az best he could. He told |
of Mr.. Cops apparent injuries ana |
suffering on the way to the hospital. |
and repeated his conversation. This |
tended to prove that Mr.. |
Copp was enduring severe pain. and |
he continually urged the witness to get
to the hospital as soon as possible. |
best judgment was that the |
car was proceeding at Il rate of 20 to |
% miles an hour.
In cross questioning by Attorney
Heath, witness admitted having tes-
titled before the railroad commission, /
and reatfirmed his previous testimony. |
He had timed some of the cars on their
various trips and stated the time to
the court.
Edward F. Atwood worked in the
employ of Mr.. Copp and told of the oc~
in the pit" previous to the |
accident. Mr.. Atwood. hearing the
shouts and crash hurried to the scene
and helped make the injured man as
easy as possible. In regard to the oc-
rurrence itself he knew little.
William Kelley was also in the en-
ploy of Mr.. Gay, working in the pit.
loading the teams. His testimony hal
been covered entirely by former wit
neSseS and was introduced as a mat.
-er of substantiating the former evil
fence.
AT O'Clock Attorney Thomp-
son had presented all Of his available
witnesses and after Il recess for then,
o appear court adjourned until
} clock, this morning.
Attorney Heath has introduced a
plan of the scene of the accident.
lrawn by Civil Engineer Getchell. This
will be used during the remainder or
ha bea,p.r and will al Tho ,..,,,..t,,e;1.