Los Angeles herald., 1908-07-30
Accident Near Paris Is
Worst in Years
w. K. VANDERBlLT'S STEPSON
BURNED TO DEATH
DRIVES AUTO sEvENTY-FIvE
MILES AN HOUR
Car Turns Turtle, Tank Explodes and
G. Winthrop Sands Body Is
Literally Cooked to
Crisp

By Associated Press.
PARIS, July 2o.-In one of the
most terrible automobile acci-
dents in many years in France, G.
Winthrop Sands, stepson of w.
K. Vanderbilt, was killed this
morning just outside the grounds
of Mr.. Vanderbilt's beautiful
country seat, the Chateau St.
Louis de Poisey, twenty miles
from Paris.
Mr.. Sands was driving his So
horsepower car along at a terrific
clip, in a desire to reach the cha
teau, where Mrs. Sands and her
infant daughter were staying. He
had always been known as a reck-
less driver and as ne had been de-
layed at a railroad crossing, he
opened the throttle wide as he APP
preached the chateau grounds.
Almost Immediately tire burst
and the machine crashed into a
tree, turning turtle and burying
Mr.. Sands under the forward part
and pinning the chauffeur, Pick
ins, to the ground. An explosion
followed and in moment the car
was in flames.
Peasants working in the adjoining
fields were the only witnesses to the ac-
cident They rushed to the rescue, but
fearing further explosion of the gaso-
line tank and deferred by the sweep of
flames, they stood idly by, not know
ing how to give assistance to the injured
men. Finally they managed to raise
the rear of the car and release the
chauffeur both of whose feet had been
held tight, and a little later, after beat
ing down the fire, they dragged out the
torn. bleeding and burned body of
Sands.
Help soon arrived from the chateau,
which is in the center of Mr.. Wander
bits great breeding farm. The in
jured men were carried to the house,
where it was found that Sands was
beyond the hope of recovery, but that
the chauffeur was not seriously in
jured
Keats Mile a Minute
1--WE had left Deauville." said he, eat
5 o'clock in the morning, Mr.. Sands
having gone there yesterday to see his
2-year-old daughter, who was also with
Mr. Vanderbilt and his brother
Stephen. Mr. Sands was driving and
we were going at a rapid pace, prob
ablv seventy-five miles an hour. as he
was anxious to reach the chateau,
where Mrs Sands and the baby were.
The machine was a 50-horse power car
and capable of great speed. Two en-
forced delays at railroad crossings had
somewhat annoyed Mr.. Sands. and as
we approached the chateau grounds he
asked me the hour. 1t was exactly 7:15
a. m. We are late,' he muttered, and
at the same time opened the throttle
wider.
almost Immediately the right-hand
forward tire blew up. The machine
skidded and bumped and then seemed
to jump off the road. 1t struck against
a tree with such force that 1t rebound
ed against another tree, literally climb
ing up the trunk and then topping
over backward, imprisoning Mr.. Sands
under the forward part.
"Only my feet were caught under the
rear portion of the car, and ] lost con-
seriousness for moment When l re-
covered the wreck already was In
flames, the motor having exploded.
From where I lay / could see that
Sands was utterly helpless amid the
burning wreckage. His right leg. which
was crushed and almost severed, was
bleeding prOIuSely. he WAS rOdSllIlS as
though on a spit in the roaring fur
mace.
II again lost consciousness, and when
I came to 1 was lying on the roadside
and the peasants were tearing apart
the hot, twisted iron. In extricating
Sands his leg was left in the wreckage-
severed from the body as the man was
dragged out The frightful sight will
haunt me to my dying day."
The servants, fearing the effect on
Mrs Sands concealed from her the
gravity of the accident, and persuaded
her not to enter the room where her
dying husband had been placed. A
doctor was summoned from Poisey
and arrived soon afterward, but Mr..
Sands was beyond mortal aid. Never
had he seen, the doctor said, such a
pitiful human wreck.
The stump of the leg had been
burned to a crisp and the face and
body were black and scared with
flames. In addition to terrible inter-
nal injuries Mr.. Sands right arm and
shoulder were broken The doctor
could only try to alleviate his suffer-
ings with opiates Several times the
man regained consciousness and cried
out in agony. his last words being q
cry for water.