Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-26
BOY RUN DOWN BY AUTO
Chas. E. Raymond, Chauffeur, Who
Operated the Machine, Exonerated.
SUBSTANCE OF THE TESTIMONY
MI. Letter and Representative Graft
of Illinois Witnesses Before
the Coroner.

With a verdict of unavoidable accidents
| as its finding the jury of inquest, sum.
| moned by Coroner ]. Ramsay Nevitt 10 i'm
quire into the circumstances surrounding
the death of Samuel West, the colored boy
who was run down and killed by the au-
tomobile owned by Joseph Letter yesterday.
expressed it as its belief today that the
chauffeur Of the machine Charles H. Ray
| mond was not guilty of negligence IN tho
| operation of the car Fourteen witnesses
| in all were examined and Chauffeur Ray
mond made voluntary statement covering
the accident as he saw it, Raymond was
represented at the inquest by Attorney w.
V. r. Berry and IT was at the latter's sug-
| gestion that he made the statement.
The jury impaneled by the coroner in
Guided Frank X. Raymond, foreman;
Charles Jackson, James Cunning ham, Will
liam z. Brooks. A. J. Sanford and George
w. Harvey. Their verdict in fun was as
follows:
I'VE find that Samuel West came to his
Geath December %, 1906, from crushed
wounds of the head and skull at 18th
street and Columbia road northwest, such
injuries being, caused by being run over
by an automobile in charge of G. ii. Ray
mond
unavoidable
Testimony in the Case.
called. testified that he standing near
| the corner of 18th street and Columbia
| road northwest about 11:1J o'clock yes
| terday He saw a and automobile
| approach the corner. The stopped and
| the automobile also drew up suddenly. I'M
| mediately afterward a man jumped from
| the automobile. Witness did not know
| accident had happened. but he went to the
| scene and saw the little colored boy lying
| on the street with the side of his face
fscrushed in. The sergeant told of having
| called physicians from nearby offices and
of the decision given that the boy
dead 1t further testified that the
automobile was on the right side of the
street and was not moving faster than
| eight or ten miles an hour
At this point Coroner hewitt made
! statement concerning a personal exami-
nation he made of the street paving al the
J point where the accident occurred and
said he found spot of blood about eight
| feet from the sidewalk.
| Sergt. Carlson in reply to question said
| he heard no warning bell or horn sounded
| from the automobile.
Representative Graft a Witness.
Representative Joseph V. Graft of Peoria,
Ill, when called to the witness stand tes-
| titled that he and his son were in the act
of alightirg from a north bound 18th street
car at Columbia road shortly after IL
o'clock yesterday, when he saw an automo-
| bile approaching rapidly.
| my son left the car just ahead OF
me- said Mr.. Graft, land / called TO him
| the auto missed striking him by about two
| feet At the same time l noticed a col
| ored boy who was beyond my son, and as
| l watched he disappeared. The automo-
| bile stopped suddenly and | saw the colored
| boy lying in the street with blood oozlng
| from his head. | was Indignant at the
time. and so expressed myself, because
l thought my son had mad rather narrow
| escape
Mr.. Graft also gave description of
the automobile and spoke of stepping back
| to the corner to see the number OF the
| car
| ually" Mr.. Graft continued, because L
| was paying more attention to my own boy
| | do not know whether not the victim
| had been a passenger on the trolley car
Replying to question from the coroner
| witness said he had heard no warning
sound from the automoplle
Conductors Statement.
q did net even know the colored boy was
on the car" said Columbus Franklin Sher-
wood, conductor of the 14th street car
which was concerned in the affair Il did
not see anything of the accident until the
| boy had been run over.
At the coroners direction, Morguemaster
Shoneberger took Sherwood into the chill
| room at the morgue, and, after viewing the
| body he declared positively that the boy
had been a passenger on MS car lHsl no
! got on al or near Q street, and he recalled
| the fact that the boy paid his fare with a
nickel which he carried in his mouth.
II asked him to wipe off the money
| said Sherwood.
| II think the colored boy was among the
| first to get off my car at Columbia road.
witness continued. The first knew OF lt
| all was when 1 heard somebody cry, Look
| out and L turned and saw big automobile
approach. 1t stopped with jerk. l cannot
| say positively, but think the colored boy
4 No. NIL arm
Mr. Letter Heard.
| Joseph Letter was next called. He said
| in part:
| I'VE were going up 14th street yesterday
about 11:15 O'Clock. following trolley car.
| Just before we reached Columbia road, and
without waiting for the trolley to stop. a
small colored boy jumped off and ran in
front of our machine. The boy was the
! first passenger to get off the car, and my
| chauffeur sounded his horn and both the
| chauffeur and the footman, who was sitting
| with him, cried out a warning. Our car
| was going not faster than six or eight miles
| an hour, and if the boy had sto~ where
| he was he would not have been ST. X. In
| stead, he jumped back in front of he ma
| chine and the right fender struck him and
| knocked him down. The chauffeur had
| set the brakes, but after the boy went down
| he released the clutch so that the automo-
| bile would pass over and not stop on the
| boys body.
I'VE were on the right side of the street.
The trolley car stopped and other passen-
| gers alighted, and l would say We ran
| forward forty or fifty feet before coming 10
| a standstil
| Replying to a question asked by the coro-
| ner. Mr.. Letter said there were seated IN
| the automobile. besides himself, the chauf-
feur and the footman: his mother, Mrs l..
| F. Letter and their guests Mr.. and Mrs.
| Franklin Renington-six persons in all.
| 1--WE were running only about six miles
4 fn.,f fnr
| Mr. Letter. who was next called. 1.-THE col
| ored boy swung from he rear platform OF
| the trolley before 1t stopped. We. were