The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-07-19
BROKER In FATAL AUTOCRASH
ROPES INJURED; r. r.
DONOVAN, CHAUFFEUR, KILLED.

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Their Cars. Denovan's without q IAkht.
Come Together at q Dark Spot On the
Ocean Park way-ROpess Companion
Has Lucky Escapo-AutOs Demolished
Heaped up at one side Of the Ocean Park
way about a mills this side Of Coney Island
there was TO be seen yesterday a mass Of
twisted metal, wood and rubber-s mass
that had been a short tims before two
automobiles worth about 5000. The torn
and bleeding forms Of two men had been
extricated from the pile Of junk. One OF
the men died soon afterward. The other
is severely injured and Is in the Reception
Hospital at Coney Island.
The two machines hit head on with terrific
force at les O'Clock yesterday morning.
Chapman Ropes. a broker with Offices at
~ Broadway. is the injured mar in the Coney
Island hospital. Thomas r. Donovan. an
automobile driver. who lived at 27s Putnam
avenue. Brooklyn. was the man killed.
Francis p. C~avanaugb. a mining man from
Boise. Idaho. was in the car with Mr., Ropes
and he hasn't yet figured out just how he
escaped death.
Mr.. Ropes lives at Morristown, Y. j.. but
for several weeks has been stopping st the
Manhattan Beach Hotel. MIR. Cavanaugh
ca me on here in connection with some bust
meas he had with Mr.. Ropes. and also went
TO live az the Manhattan Beach Hotel. The
two men went for a spin in Ropes's Packard
touring car Wednesday evening. They had
~traversed the Parkway and through Pros
pect Park. IL was quite late when the
broker headed his car toward Manhattan
Beach. At Kings Highway the right hind
tire blew up and IL took Ropes considerable
time to set a new one.
He had finished and started up his ma
chine. having gone a few hundred feet,
when something black doomed in front Of
the machine. Ropes and Cavanaugh re-
member no more. Ropes's first knowledge
Of what had happened coming when he
regained consciousness some hours later
in the hospital Cavanaugh came to when
stretched out OF a grass plot TO the side OF
the boulevard and with quite a crowd OF
people around him.
Donovan was headed north from Coney
Island and did not have the lights on his
car aglow. Just why he neglected this
probab never will be known. He had
taken the machine. a big Pierce-Arrow,
out without the consent OF the owner, his
employer, Charles A.. Williamson Of 52s
Willoughby avenue. Brooklyn.
Samuel T. Carter Of 7ts Marlborough
street, Brooklyn. was driving in a buggy
with two women and was about fifty feet
away from the machines when the collision
occurred. He says that the two machines
went together at great speed and with a
u like the crack Of a big cannon. Mr..
Carter says that Donovan's machine came
out OF the darkness like a streak OF black
and that " had no lights.
lartar md HE I'M, DApnn fHtanAa mazda
for the torn mass and were dragging out
Donovan when another auto hove in sight
and came at a rapid rate. The cries of
Carter and the two women caused the
driver of this machine to pull up short and
turn sharply to one side Of the road, else
there might ave been another accident.
The crash Of the machines had been heard
in the stables east OF the Gravesend race
track, and a crowd Of stable boys ran over
with lanterns and facilitated the caring
for the injured. The machine that had
narrowly escaped running into the wreck
was that OF jeremiah Hutchinson of i32
Bridge street, Brooklyn. With him was
Harry Coma. also Of that address Dono
van. was put into that machine and hurried
to the Reception Hospital at Coney Island.
Mr.. Carter accompanied him Arriving
at the hospital, Carter was 80 covered with
blood that the doctors hurried him to a
ward and were about to get busy when he
explained that he wasn't hurt.
Il was seen that Donovan was in n bad
way and word was sent to Father j. j.
Cullen. pastor OF the Church of the Guardian
Angel, near the hospital. He administered
the last rites Of the Church TO the injured
man, who lay on an operating table. Dono-
van died half an hour after he was taken
10 the hospital.
MIR. Ropes was TAX en- 10 the hospital in
automobile by Will Shields. the raoehorse
owner. IL was at first feared that he was
fatally hurt. but yesterday afternoon the
doctors expressed the opinion that. barring
unforeseen complications. the broker surely
would recover. However. Mr.. Ropes has
a conclusion of the brain. a fractured
and several scalp wounds. He
had recovered from the shock yesterday
and told a Sun reporter what
for he hasn't the faintest idea as
to what actually happened after he saw
that black something loom before him.
Mr.. Ropes said positively that there we're
lights on the car that crashed into him.
He said that the other machine was going
like the wind. His own car. he declared,
was not going at a very high rate because
he had just completed repairs and was only
under way.
The spot in the Ocean Park way where the
occurred il dark. Huge trees
screen the electric lights, and il is with great
difficulty that automobile drivers keep to
the proper side. That neither Mr.. Ropes
nor Donovan was following the rules Of the
road is indicated by the fact that the two
machines appear to have co me together very
near the centre Of the driveway.
Mr.. Ropes purchased his car only re-
GENTLY. He was arrested in Harlem on July 3
Tor violating the speed laws.