The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-12-19
CAR PLOWS WAY
THROUGH STORE
Two Persons Standing in Front
Part Of Williams's Phar-
macy Injured.
WET RAILS CAUSE ACCIDENT
Clay Street Car, Jumping Track
at Twenty-First and Mar
shall, Wrecks Store.

T. b Williams. proprietor Il Will
liamss PharmacN corner of twenty
first and Marshall Streets. and W. l..
Bell. Of 500 M0sby Street. who Were
standing at tn, soda fountain. Were
knocked down and painfully injured
last night about 7:40 o'clock when a
runaway Clay street car bumped across
the sidewalk and crashed through the
front Of the drug store. Although the
car battered its way half its length
into the store front. Motorman q. V.
swallow escaped from the crushed hood
Of the car with a few bruises. while
a lone woman passenger and Conduc-
tor T. T. Herring were merely shaken
up
No estimate OF the damage done had
been made last night. although II IS
expected 70 run into hundreds and per
haps thousands of dollars. The entire
glass and W )OdwOrk front OF the drug
store was crumpled in like paper. and
the heavy car. blowing along, wreaked
havoc with the soda fountain, show
cases and fixtures in the forward part
Of the shop. The damage TO the car
was slight. the front hood being
crushed and the window glasses
smashed.
OuiN W. III
There happened TO be only two per-
sons in the store at the time of the
accident. or the injury list would have
been greatly swollen. Bell was stand
ing at the fountain. near the front of
the store. drinking. while Mr. Williams
had taken up a station behind the soda
fount. Bell was cut about tie leg
by flying glass and three stitches We're
taken in the wound The proprietor
was struck on the head. presumably
by parts of the tumbling fountain.
knocked down and cut and bruised in
several places.
How the motorman escaped serious
injury is a source OF marvel to all who
have seen the wrecked building AS "A
most unusual thing at that hour of the
day. the westbound Clay street car
No e22 contained but the one lslssen-
ger. Neither the crew nor the passen-
ger made any effort to leap from the
runaway car. while Bell and Williams
did not have warning OF the impending
catastrophe until too late TO escape
from the danger zone.
Caused by Wet Track.
The accident is blamed entirely on
the wet, slippery car tracks, which
offered scarcely any resistance to the
wheels when brakes were dPP44e"'
The Clay Street car. westbound. was
coming down jefferson Avenue Just at
Twenty-hrst Street. where there is a
curve and crossing of the Richmond
and. Henrico Railway tracks. Al
/ though Motorman Swallow is said not
TO have been running fast and TO have
applied his brakes while many yards
from the corner. the car continued to
coast down grade under its own mo-
mentum. and upon reaching the curve
and crossing left the rails at tan
gent and made for the corner drug
store
Before being brought TO a stop the
car ran fully twenty yards IN the
tracks. Instead of being halted by the
curling. II eagerly climbed that
lodged a steel light pole and careened
madlv through the front OF Williams 5
Pharmacy
Earlier in the day a westbound Oak
wood and Main Street car left the
tracks at Venable and MOsby Streets
but was brought to a halt before reach
ing corner store
\ third accident was reported last
night when car No. rs. u the Laurel
Street line. left the track about II
o'clock at the curve on the corner OF
Ninth and Main Streets. No damage
was done Traffic was tied up until
after the arrival Of the wreckinS car
from the barns. This derailment was
caused by sand having been Washed
into the track by rain.