Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-10
Joy RIDE ENDS
WITH ACCIDENT
CHAUFFEUR NEAR DEATH AS
RESULT OF WRECK
BIG CAR DEMOLISHED AT BRIDGE
OVER VENICE CANAL
Driver for A. L. Cheney OF Los An-
aeles Critically lnjured-Hls
Companions Hurry
Away

VENICE. Feb. 9--Joseph B. Rob
;son 25 years old, of Los Angeles lies
near death tonight as the result of
disastrous ending to a daylight JOY
ride, when a machine he was DRIVING
at 20 miles an hour struck bfldSe
over a canal here this afternoon. The
physician attending him said tonight
Robson has a fractured skull.
In company with two friends, Earl
Fancbard and Dick Allen, who were
unhurt in the crash, Robson came to
Venice this afternoon in a 90 horse
power 1910 Lozier car belonging to ms
employer, A. L. Cheney, Los Angeles
safe and vault dealer According TO
one of the young men, previous to the
accident the machine had recently
been overhauled at the Fenimore gar
age. and Robson took it out today for
a test run. The Lozier is capable OF
running at a speed of at least 10 miles
an hour and the position in which
the driving clutch was found following
the accident indicates that the car was
travelling at it's highest speed.
Take Bridge at Full Speed
Leaving Venice, Robson drove the
car rapidly toward Los Angeles out
Lake avenue shouting merrily to
friends as he passed the Venice gar
age. No apparent attempt was made
to slacken the speed of the machine
as the bridge was approached, accord
ing to the one eyewitness of the ac-
cident. Mrs. j. w. Lawrence, wife of
the cashier of the Bank of Venice
who resides near the scene. Mrs. Law
renee describes the accident as fol-
lows:
"I was looking out of a window at
the approaching machine, and as they
did not seem to slow down L began to
fear that something would happen, as
the bridge is on a curve, and it GER
tainly seemed thar they could not
make the curve at the speed they were
travelling. Then came the crash. One
of the men was riding on the little
seat at the side of the machine, They
We're all thrown out onto the ground.
The driver fell on his head and lay
there as if dead. The other two men,
who appeared to be dazed, but were
otherwise uninjured, came here to tele-
phone to a doctor-then they disap-
peared. It's a wonder to me that the
machine and all didn't go into the
canal
When the police were notified of the
accident two officers hastened at once
to the scene in a machine furnished
by Charles Huff, a local real estate
dealer. They found Robson lying un-
conscious on the road His compan-
taken where an examination of his
injuries was made. Robson was later
removed to the Santa Monica Bay
hospital, where it was reported tonight
he was resting easy, with no change
in his condition.
j. Nj. Tournay, who was walking in
the vicinity of the city hall, a quarter
of mile from the bridge where the
accident occurred, told the police that
he saw two young men walk arm in
arm across the fields toward the street
car line and board a car for Los An
geles a few minutes after the crash.
The car struck the south railing Of
the bridge just a shCrt distance east
of the middle and swerved and again
struck it at the east end. The first
impact, which was heard by residents
a block away, completely shattered
two of the reinforced concrete pillars
in the railing and broke the concrete
railing itself squarely in two. The
machine turned partly over after
striking the railing, but later righted
itself.
The front wheels, truck and lamps
of the car were totally demolished,
causing a damage Of probably $1,000
The machine is being repaired at the
Venice garage. Mrs. Cheney came to
Venice to look at the machine. but
had nothing to say concerning the ac-
cident.
Although the Rialto bridge is one of
the most dangerous to be found any
where for cars travelling at a high rate
of speed, it is in plain view in day
time and at night is marked by signal
lights Notwithstanding this, several
serious accidents have occurred here
in the past two years and a number
of persons have been injured. One
case in particular was that of young
motorcyclist, who struck the bridge
while riding rapidly, and his injuries
We're of such a severe nature that he
is at present being cared for at an
insane asylum.
Robson regained consciousness to-
night and was able to converse with
friends, but refused to talk about the
accident He was still in a critical
condition, but the fact that he was
able to talk is considered a Favorable
indication.