The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-06-17
For Death Of William Cone
and Daughter Near ROxburY
TRESPASS WAS THE CAUSE
Vermont Public Service Commission Re-
ports That the Chief Proximats
Cause Was Mr.. Cones Care
Iessness.

Practically complete exoneration ia
given by the Vermont public service COM
mission TO Engineer F. NJ. Frost Of tho
Central Vermont New England States
Limited train which ran down and killed
William Cone and his daughter, Lydia
Cone, on a bridge near Roxbury on April
II last; and the "chief proximate cause"
Of the accident Is given As the careless.
ness Of Mr.. Cone In trespassing upon the
railroad right Of way Mild censure is
given the engineer for not applying the
brakes when he saw the couple on the
bridge.
The report Of the commission on the
investigation, issued to-day, is as fol-
lowss
"A public investigation into the cause
Of this accident, held at Montpelier, May
%, 1909, revealed the following facts:
"On the Central Vermont railway,
about one and one half miles north Of
Roxbury, are two bridges about one
thousand feet apart, No. AZ and As.
known as the twin bridges Of which
No 4s Is the more northerly.
William Cone, q man about Al years
Of age, lived in the town Of Roxbnry
very near the Eorth6eld line and close
to the Central Vermont railway track.
On Sunday, April II, 1909, about Q .. M,
he left his home with his daughter
Lydia. about nine years Of age, and
walked north on the Central Vermont
railway intending to stop at a house near
the track about one half mile from his
home. When they had gone about ten
feet on bridge As, the regular north.
bound passenger train Of the Central
Vermont Railway company, known as
the New England States Limited run.
ming at the rate Of about ffty miles an
hour, rounded the curve just south Of
bridge No. AZ and about one fourth Of a
mile from Mr. Cone and his daughter.
AT that point the engineer saw them,
but he says that he was unable to deter
mine whether they were then on the
bridge; but that when he was about
four hundred feet from them he noticed
that they were on the bridge and that
apparently they were not aware Of the
approaching train, whereupon he sounded
the danger blast OF his whistle which
Mr.. Cone heard and at once went to the
extreme west edge 81 the bridge, there
sat down, and the child did the same.
The engineer says that he considered
they were in a safe position and that
therefore he made no attempt to stop
his train and did not stop until ho
reached Mortified. AT chat place while
he was oiling his engine and examining
hot box thereon. he noticed blood
stains on the step attached to the ten
der lie thereupon concluded that the
engine had probably struck Mr.. Conc
and his daughter and at once notified
the railroad ofieials.
we find that Mr.. Cone was struck BY
the step OF the tender on which were the
blood stains. and probably thereby IN
stantly killed. At any rate, he was
thrown a distance Of about fifty feet and
struck on q ledge. It is probable that
he had his arms about his child when he
was struck, and that in his fall he swept
her Of the bridge Her body was found
in the river some distance from the
bridge; and we find that she probabIA
came to her death through drowning.
I'VE find that the chief proximata
cause Of this accident was the careless
ness Of Mr.. Cone ii trespassing upon the
railroad right OF way.
~ diHO Arct tiiAA tAlt tUElHtEI HHDNfU
have made the emergency application of
his brake certainly as soon as he saw
that Mr.. Cone and the child were upon
the bridge, although he could not have
stopped bis train before reaching them
If he had done So
IT seemed to be claimed on cross
examination that the engineer should
have made the emergency application og
his brake when he first saw Mr. Gone
and the child as above stated, but IA view
Of the circumstances even If his failure
TO do so was an error Of judgment. We
cannot say that il was an error for which
he. should be criticised Moreover, wa
are not satisfied that the engineer saw.
or could have seen, that Mr., Cone and
bis child were upon the bridge sooner
that he says he first saw them there"