The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-09-19
REMARKABLE ACCIDENT.
Automobile Jumps Over 1oo-Foot Cliff
And Occupants Are Unnjured.


Lesueur (Minn.) Cor. st. Louis Republic.
There was a wonderful occurrence out
in Burgomaster township yesterday, near
the place where the Utopian society was
holding Its annual picnic
They were in the valley of the Sweet-
water river, down stream from where the
iron bridge on the Hunsbrake turnpike
crosses the stream, and about o'clock in
the afternoon the attention of many of
the picnickers was attracted by the shrill
screaming of some little girls who were
on the edge of the 100-foot rock bank of
the stream near the point where the turn
pike takes its turn down into the valley
to cross the bridge. They saw the little
girls scatter out of the way of something
that seemed to be coming toward them
from up the road, and a moment later
there was crash in the board fence at
the turn of the road, and an instant later
great crimson, shining automobile with
two persons seated in it shot over the
bank into the air. 100 feet above the heads
of the picnickers who were gazing up at
1t from below. a
gentleman named Roderick ]. Kloiber,
from away over in Germantown, and a
young lady named Miss Marie Bernadotte
were taking an automobile trip from Her.
mantown to Hunsbrake, and were wholly
unacquainted with the road, and conse-
quently knew nothing of the eminently
dangerous turn in the road at the top Of
the cliff. They were coming down the in
cline ct great speed, taking 1t for granted
that the road was fairly level all the
way ahead of them, when suddenly, not
fifty feet in advance, just as they passed
around a clump of evergreen trees near
the road, yawned the deep, narrow valley
of the Sweetwater.
The sudden sight of the valley was too
much for the nerves of Miss Barnadotte,
nj ukA ,AI or,I -, h1r
evidently with the intention of jumping
out of the automobile.
Mr.. Kloiber grasped her with both
hands, releasing control of the machine,
and, being compelled to struggle a mo-
ment before he could get control of the
lady. the machine bounded on at full
speed, broke through the fence and leaped
out into space.
Far out the beautiful vehicle flew, curv-
ing outward and downward and turning
as gracefully as q bird in the air in its
flight.
Mr.. Kloiber held the lady with one arm
and clutched the steering wheel with the
other hand, and thus, riding as easily and
steadily so far as his relation to the au-
tomobile was concerned, as II they had
been on solid ground. the young couple
stayed with it during its downward fight,
turning completely over once during the
Iall, SO tndI the uOIIllleu plClllCclS 4OOh-
ing up at the flight from below saw at
one moment Kloiber and Miss Bernadotte
curving through the air with the great
auto inverted above them.
Turning, fortunately, just right as 1t
went down, the machine fell with a
mighty upheaval of the water. exactly
right side up, into the river where it Is
as much as twenty feet deep, and rushing
down to the bottom with ever decreasing
speed, carrying the passengers uninjured
with 1t, the automobile still right side up
and facing away from the cliff, struck the
level, sandy bottom without much force
and, being still in motion and so continue
ing. 1t ran slowly up the gentle incline, out
of the water and onto the shore, ran over
COW and killed her and then stopped
and the passengers alighted and took sup
per with the Utopian society folks by In
vitation, proving to be very pleasant and
agreeable young people, although both
were naturally somewhat nervous and
excited over the accident and unpleasant
ly wet