New-York tribune., 1907-09-10
WALTER CHRISTIEHURT
IN RACE At PITTSBURG.
Car Uvrecked after AccideTt Which
Cost One Life.
TRv Telegraph to The Tribune,

.,r At Brunot's Island, this afternoon was
o-rsd by two accidents, which resulted in the
5aatb of Rex Reinertsen. of this city, president
f tho Automobile Repair Association; the seri-
o,,s injury of his machinist, Claire Daskln, VINO
,oe on the car with him. and the serious injury
Of Walter Christie. president of the Christie Iron
works Company of New York. manufacturers
of the Christie automobile. whose plant is at No
51S East 18th street. New York
Nv Christie who drove his own car in the
Grand Prix races in Paris. is at present in St
Iohn's Hospital. Allegheny. Tonight it was
said bv both the hospital surgeons and by his
manager, Fred T. BayIey. that he will recover,
although he may be permanently crippled. In
ternal injuries are also feared. His wife is at
r-esent seriously i'll their home in River Edge.
\. J. and every effort is being made TO keep
the news of the accident from her Mr.. Chris
ties left wrist is broken. his back is badly In
iured and his right eye was cut by his goggles
in such a manner that it is feared he Will lose
its sight.
The first Of the accidents happened late this
afternoon during the 50-rnile endurance race for
touring cars. fully equipped. for purse of $3.50
There were twelve starters. and Reinertsen, IN
q HAYNES car. with his machinist Daskin' ac-
corpanying him. rounding the first turn OF
The eighth lap on the mile track. Reinertsen
-ras in the rear. all OF the other cars having
nsssed him Just beyond the grandstand the
front right wheel tire came of. The machine
hounded into the air. turned completely around
and over coming down with a crash Daskin
was thrown fifty feet away from the wreckage'
bYt Reinertsen. clasping the steering gear. was
caught under the car.
RACERS CONTINUE AFTER FATALITY
All ,,r-,indful Of the fact that one man lay
5ead and another seriously injured. the eleven
o.ber racers continued until ten more laps OF
the race had been run. Then Mayor Challes
? Kirschler. who was in the grandstand. hur-
ried TO the side Of Congressman James Franels
Burke. the referee. and demanded that the rae
ing ston until the extent Of the two mems IN
1uries was ascertained.
Although his skull was fractured and almost
every bone in his body broken. Re!ner'sen was
SIN alive when picked up Both he and Das-
kin were hurried 70 ST. Johns Hospital but
Re;nertsen died soon after he reached there.
He MAS thfrty-fve years old and prominent in
business and automobile circles in this city.
less than a week ago his wife was removed
from ST Johns Hospital. where she underwent
q serious operation She IS still critically ILL.,
0aszin suffered fractures of both arms and
legs. and is badly cut and bruised all over the
body. He will hardly recover.
When il was found that one man had been
killed and another badly hurt there was nluch
excitement among the four thousand spectators.
The next event on the programme was the dash
against time by Walter Christie. The specta-
tors were in no huulor for such an event. how
ever and Barney OIdfeld was sent out the
track 10 make unity the nerves OF the su
dienoe settled down. Oldfeld appeared in the
Green Dragon and made a mile around the
track il 1:I0
When Christie came on the track he got
great reception. He was in his Christie direct
drive car, the one he built for the Grand Prix
IN Paris. He declared that the track was the
most perfect he had ever seen. and that ne
pected TO make a new worlds record The
track has record Of IS seconds, and Christie
was TO receive $500 II he lowered the record
He started around the track for warming up
and TO get his flying start. The last half Of his
warming-up mile he covered in p seconds. and
he was going at a speed which probably would
have made his mile in 30 seconds when he
passed the starters stand mis- run for the
record
CHRISTIE IN SECOND ACCIDENT.
Like fash Christie passed the grandstand
and had reached the one-eighth mile post when
the spectators were Mortified to see his car sud-
denly shoot up in the air. 1t just at the
point where Reinertsen had met with his accI-
dent. His wrecked machine had been pulled off
the track, but projecting end had caught the
front right hand wheel Of Christie's car Fort
unately Christies grip Of the wheel was broken
and he shot twenty feet into the air and fifty
feet ahead Of the machine.
The widest excitement followed, IT
supposed that there had been another fatality.
Dr.. Mark Baldwin, the former baseball pitcher,
was the first 10 reach Christie's side. He found
hundreds of
surged or to the track from the grandstand The
pol->z were unable to handle the crowd, and q
small panic followed. It was some time before
Christie could be placed in automobile and
hurried 10 St Johns Hospital It was unneces-
sary 10 dismiss the crowd, which had seen
enough for one afternoon, and the park was
soon deserted Tonight Superintendent OF
Police Glenn severely criticised the management
Of the races for the poor arrangements and in
formed them that II the races were TO continue
tomorrow an emergency hospital would have
tc be established
Mr. Christie spent ten years in developing the
car In which he was so badly hurt to-day, ana
which was almost completely demolished On
June Is last he went to Paris and competed IN
the Grand Prix on July 8. in which race he had
trouble with mis- tires and was forced to with
draw. He returned TO America and raced at
Brighton Beach on July 8. making a mile in
542-5 eeconds He then went to Boston. where
OF August 81 he went a mile in 52 fiat Last
Wednesday he started for Minneapolis, arriving
there On Saturday, where he made a mile IN o%
fat on the track Of the Minneapolis state IaiI'
Leaving Minneapolis Saturday night MI
Christie arrived hero this morning. AFTER ne
looked a. the track he declared that he woulo
have no trouble In making the mile In oZ SET
onds. and believed thst he would make 1t In oo