Danville intelligencer. [volume] (Danville, Pa.) 1859-1907, 1904-11-18
THE CROWLEY CASE
IS STARTED


son Monday morning convened the
special term of court called for hear
ing the case of Mrs. Cromley. widow
of Joseph @. Orom.ey. of Limeston3
township, against the Pennsylvania
railroad to recover damages for the
killing of Mr.. Oromley aud the son of
the plaintiff aud also team of horses.
by q Pennsy lvania train on crossing
at Watsontown Oh the afternoon of
January 0, 1909. In the absence of a
presiding Judge adjournment was tax
en- to Q p. m.
At about 2 80 p. m. Judge White. of
Indiana county, reoonvened court and
the preparation for hearing the case
was started by selecting jury. The
twelve men chosen to serve as jurors
are rs follows: Charles Gibbons, J.
o. Minoemoyer, Simon Ellenbogen,
Samuel Lunger, A. q. Shultz, j H.
Weaver, John Campbell, Lewis Little,
William Black, William Bell, j. W.
Andy and Frank Olmstead.
Attorneys Scarlet, Badly and Gear
hart appeared as the counsel for Mrs.
'Cromley and Lawyers Hinckley and
sGrier for the railroad company. The
'court room was we'll filed and con
siderable interest was being manifest :
ed in the proceedings when the case
was opened at 8 80 o'clock by Lawyer.
iGearhart. During his remarks to the
jury Mrs. Cromley was in tears. He
outlined the tragic deaths of the man
and boy and promised to show that
when on his way home from Wstson-
town in the afternoon of January g..
1909 Mr.. Cromley, who was in his us
,ual health while the boy was likewise,
stopped before going OIL the track to
see if a tcain was approaching and
then started his team OIL walk. Also
lhe stated that it would be shown that
because of the excessive speed of the
Buffalo Flyer, the train that killed
ithe man and boy and team. a notice
was sent by the borough of Watson
town to Superintendent E. B Vest
fall, now deceased, requiring that no
trains run through the town at a speed
,of more than six miles an hour and
lthat to this Mr.. Westfall replied that
it would be impossible to reduce the
speed of the Flyer, but all possible
precautions would be taken.
The first witness called was Mrs.
bA ho eta n,l lxy
% short time and whose answers relat-
ed mainly to her marriage to Joseph
u. Cromley, their having son and
the leaving home of Mr. Cromley and
the boy on January 9, 1902. to take a
load of wheat to Watsontowns and
their failure to return alive.
The most interesting testimony Of
the afternoon was that of Jerry Dono.
van, Of Williamsport, who at the time
of the accident worked at the table
works at Watsontown and from a wind
ow of the factory saw what looked
like a bundle of rags whirl into the
air as the train passed,a cloud of du st
and snow following it. He went at
once to the crossing, fin ling the mans
lifeless body 80 or 10 feet away, the
boy just breathing his last still 10 or
30 feet farther down the track and the
out-up forms of the horses about 200
feet away. He testified that he work.
ed four years at the factory, seeing
about ten trains day pass aud the
Flyer was the fastest of all of them.
Describing its speed at the time it ran
down and killed the Cromleys, he nd
1t took only a couple of seconds for
the train to pass from the crossing to
the nail works, a distance of from 300
, to 500 feet.
The case was we'll under way at the
+ time of the afternoons adjournment,
but it will stretch out over several
days In all probability.