Arizona republican., 1911-09-15
Walter Patton, Well Known Young Man of This City, Has Life Crushed Out Last Night Near Hot Springs Junction.
HEAD STRUCK BY
 BRIDGE TIMERS
Body of Ill-fated Youth Was Brought to This City Coroner Meets The Train and Arranges for An Inquest Today.

Browning the playfulness of youth with a fate that seems undeserved, leven though invited by thoughtless- Iness. death came instantly tO 1I-year old Walter Patton last night through Ian accident that occurred as south bound passenger train No. 9 on the :. F r X P. was crossing the bridge lover the Hassayampa river. between 1 IWickenburg and Hot Springs june
 ton
 1 Standing on the platform of the
 last car but one, and hanging from
 the hand rail. Patton leaned out just in time to strike the side timbcrs of | the bridge as the car rolled by them. | He fell to the timbcrs beside the track. though not through them The itrain passed on for perhaps a quarter Iof a mile before those who knew of
 the accident could notify the crew
 land bring the train to a standstill. | The train was then backed mp to the bridge and Conductor J. McArdle and lanother man found the lifeless body land carried il to the baggage car. From Hot Springs junction, the of flee Of Superintendent Storey in Pres
 colt was notified and directions were
 given General Agent Goldsworthy in 1 Phoenix to summon the coroner and
 do whatever else was necessary under Ithe circumstances. Coroner C. w
 Johnstone met the train. which ar rived at 11:15, a half hour late on Iaccount of the accident, and set the
 inquest for l0 o'clock this morning IThe body was placed under the care iof Moore & Mcclellan.
 But a single wound appeared on ] the body and that was above the left
 ear, a fracture of several inches eX~
 tending either way from the central ipoint where the head came in con
 tact with the timber.
 The only witnesses of the accident
 were two girls in their teens. the
 Misses F. x. and r.. w Fulwiler daughters of Mir and Mrs. W. D. Full lwiler and even they do not perhaps
 know all that occurred Walter had
 been riding on the platform much of
 the way from Iron Springs where he and the girls all boarded the train
 and from time to time he had leaned out from the steps and talked to the iyoung ladies who sat by the windows
 of the car. just ahead of him Im- Imediatcly on their arrival here the | girls were met by their father and taken to their home on Grand avenue Their story was secured last night
 just as they told it to the conductor They said Patton had spoken to them ljust as the car entered the bridge; F111 alarm.
 Walter Patton was the second son MT and Mrs Elmer F. Patton. who
 reside at the corner of Tenth avenue and Washington street. where NIT l Patton conducts a grocery store MT Patton has also run the store at tn, Iron Springs summer colony for a number of years, Walter assisting him materially in his business. Iron Springs has been the family home during the summer seasons. As the season is just closing Walter was re- turning to Phoenix. though his father
 and mother are still at Iron Springs an older brother being in charge of
 the store here
 Walter was a most exemplary boy. 1t NdS DpTn ana reared m InocnlN where he was widely acquainted and highly esteemed. In the last few months he had expressed an ambition to become q newspaper man and dur ing his summer residence in Iron Springs had been serving The Repub- hcan as correspondent That he has met such an untimely end will be deplOred by all, and the many friends of the family will sympathize sincere
 ly in it's hour of sudden and deep bereavement
 Train No. was under the charge of Conductor J. McArdle and Engi- neer Allen Love. Neither knew of the accident until told of it. though the conductor said last night that Walter
 had insisted on riding on the platform and that he had repeatedly forbidden .it. having personally conducted him
 inside the car two or three times.