The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-06-09
FATAL JOY RIDE
DESCRIBED At
INQUEST
Dowsett Tells Of the
Death of His Late
Companion.
HULA GIRLS TESTIFY
Seem to Think That
Defective Gear Was
Responsible.
HULA GIRLS TESTIFY
[From Thursday s Advertiser.l

(trom thursday s AdVertlSer.l
"Fine moonlight" and desire to
joy-ride about Kapiolani Park, coupled
with a possibility of defective steer
ing gear, caused the death of Frank t.
Clark early yesterday morning, accord
ing to the testimony adduced at the
inquest last night, although the coro-
ner's jury, with the non-commital YER
dict usual with coroner's juries, merely
called it an accidental death, and let
it go at that.
The witnesses were David Dowsett
and the two hula girls, Minnie Will
Hans and Emily" who shared the au-
tomobile with Clark and Dowsett on
the joy-ride as well as DIR. N. B. Emer-
son, the neetopsy surgeon, and several
who had helped to dig out the body of
the victim.
GIVE were going up the road towards
Kaimuki," said Dowsett on the stand,
'tabout 200 yards above Pond s dairy.
The moonlight was fine. The car was
not going very fast, but seemed to be
leaving the road. / was in a rear seat.
Mr.. Clark was driving We hit bump
in the road and somehow couldn't get
straight again. We went like that for
q hundred feet and then struck a de-
elivity. I was thrown out and the ma
chine turned over on me. i was not
hurt
Girls Not Hurt.
fThere were two girls in the car.
knew they were not hurt. I called to
Clark, but got no answer. I worked
my way under the car until I got to
the other end of the gully and one of
the girls helped me out by pulling my
legs. The oil lamps were out, but the
acetylene lamps were lit.
'fWe could see Clark Is legs sent
one of the girls to get assistance. A
man came up and ] asked him to get a
lamp. A half.white boy came with him.
We tried to lift the machine but
eouldn It. Five soldiers came along and
they tried too. We had to get timbers
to pry the machine up and finally got
the body away. 1t was pressed down
by the steering gear. 1t seemed to me
that the back of the tonneau was on
his head. sent for an ambulance"
"What do you thing caused the acct
dent9'' asked the deputy sheriff.
Cause of Accident.
"My idea is this. Before we started
out for Waikiki we rode about town
with another man. I noticed the ma
chine ratified and asked Mr.. Clark
what was the matter. He said that the
steering gear needed adjusting. He
said that he had been around the is
land. He did not seem to think much
of it. The man WAS not drunk, he
simply couldn't control the machine. I"
Afterwards he stated that Clark g
body remained under the machine for
forty minutes.
Minnie Williams, one of Mrs. Pu-
ahi rs hula girls and Clark's companion,
was the next witness, following Doctor
Emerson. She recounted Dowsett
and Clark Is offer to take the girls out
riding and the start. Her testimony
was mild and used the same word, rat
tied" in referring to the steering
gear Her evidence as given, followed
closely along the line of Dowsett Is.
Defective Gear.
People who have observed the ma
chine are dubious over the defective
steering gear story. They say that the
front wheels had BEEN turned violently
up the incline, as if Clark had tried to
get back to the road after he felt him
self going into the ditch.
In the estimation of witnesses, it
would have been impossible to turn the
wheels the distance they were, if the
gear was defective. It was this sudden
wrench given to the wheels which un-
doubtedly overturned the car and it
seems that If it had been permitted to
go right ahead it would have done no
more damage than to have crashed
through fence into a sorghum field.
-aA--