The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1907-06-20
Kenosha Automobile Narrowly
Escapes Going Into the
River at Milwaukee
CHAUFFEUR RUNS INTO POST
Takes the Lesser Of Two Evils and Car
Is Badly Damaged bul The Pas
sengers Escape With Only
Slight Injuries

From all reports there was Keno
sha touring party which made trip to
Milwaukee Tuesday afternoon, and
before they returned to the city they
had hairbreadth escape from death
by driving into an open draw bridge.
The names of the members of the
party have Inot as yet been learned,
but Observation-Disclosures licensed in
the name of Walter N. Murphy, of
Kenosha, and the driver gave his
name to the police as George Nix. A
careful scrutiny of automobile drivers
in the city seems to indicate that the
only car having negro driver known
in the city is one :owned by resort
keeper west of the city. Here is a
Milwaukee account Of the trouble:
Running down Wells street at a
high rate of speed, car No. 2667 w,
listed as owned by Walter N. Murphy,
of Kenosha, and operated by a negro
giving his name as George Nix, of
Kenosha, who was said to be formerly
employed at Milwaukee garage,
crashed into the north brace of the
Oneida street bridge, throwing one Of
the occupants to the pavement, de-
mo1ishing the front of the car and
poking hole through the heavy irons
of the brace. There were five occu-
pants of the car when the accident
happened, and had it not been for the
action of the driver in steering the
car into the brace it would have
plunged into the river, which had
been opened to allow passing vessel
to go through,
None of the men in the car could
be found after the accident, although
the car was taken to the Holiday gar
age for repairs, where the chauffeur
left it to be repaired, saying that he
would call for it in the morning, when
he would drive it back to Kenosha.
According to eye witnesses, Nix
and his party had just left John
S1aughter's saloon and came down the
street at excessive speed. When he
was within thirty feet of the draw he
saw that the bridge was open, and,
being unable to check the speed Of
the car, he steered it into the pole.
Nix is said to have claimed that there
were no lights upon the bridge to show.
that it was open.
"The machine wasn't speeding but
it was going at a fair clip or it would
never have knocked hole ia the iron
post, said Patro1man Biersach.
"The driver gave his name as George
Nix, of Kenosha, and said the ma
chine wasl his own, but when asked
him fewSquestions he got fresh and
wouldn't tell me anything. He de-
clared the lights on the bridge were
not burning, but was close to the
river when the accident happened
and / know the lights we're burning
as usual. The bridge was wide open
to let freighter pass by, and if the
machine had not been stopped just
when it was the machine would have
been hurled into the middle of the
river"
THAT negro never owned an auto
mobile in his life, !" said bystander,
who said that he knew the negro well
and that he once worked with him in
a garage, the negro working as a
washer. "He has gone by the name
of Nix for some time. -
The touring car was badly damaged
and it is believed that it will cost $3.50
to repair it. The engine hood was
twisted out of Shaue. the glass IN the
front of the machine was smashed in
to thousand pieces, the steering
gear was twisted and the whole ma
chine was thrown out of gear. The
driver was able to drive the machine
to nearby garage but the engine
worked badly. f4B