The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1912-10-07

Tore Away Guard Rail and Plunged
Down Fifty eight Feet.
Philadelphia, Oct. Z. - Nine youths
threw their lives away, the result OF
Joy riding and a wild race between
two automobiles, when the machine in
which the victims were riding tore
away the railing of bridge and the
machine hutrled over the embank-
ment, falling fifty-eight feet into coal
pocket.
The accident which robbed the nine
youths of their lives occurred on
Thirty-third street, near Master, the
car in which the men were occupants
tumbling over the bridge which car
ries Thirty-third street over the Penn
sylvania railroad at that point. !.
The machine turned turtle while
hurtling through the air, pinning the
victims in the debris and killing seven
Of them almost instantly, another dy.
ing at the German hospital, and the
ninth on the way there.
The dead are: Robert A. Boyd, Cor
don H Miller, William H. Lawrence,
Edgar Shaw, Leon Nevin, Daniel
Wilkes, Jesse Holmes, Ernest Scho-
field and Robert Geisel.
The automobile was owned by
James Shaw, a lumber merchant, OF
1910 Norris street.
After spinning around to several oil
the Riverside drive resorts, the nine
men started for the Shaw garage. On
Thirty-third street another car came
tearing along, and challenged the oc.
cupants of the Shaw automobile to a
race.
Up to this point the details are
clouded in conjecture, but an eye.
witness to the accident comes forth
in the person of Sharles I. Spayd to
tell the story of the collision and
death.
Spayd saw the two cars tearing
along with the speed clutches thrown
to the limit. He had driven his car
through the park, and had turned
north on Thirty-third street. The car
in which were the nine men was
slightly in the rear of the other car
when Spayd spied the racers.
AS the two machines reached q
point near Master street the youth at
the wheel of the rear machine trieG
to pass the other car.
Both cars were speeding at tneir
highest rate of speed. Young Shaw,
who presumably was the chauffeur.
made no attempt to bring his car
down in speed, but shot around from
the rear, maintaining the same high
rate of speed.
Head on the Shaw machine side
swiped the Spayd car. The former
struck the rear wheel and back of the
Spayd car and then bumped away and
headed straight for the rail of the
bridge.
The man at the wheel of the Shaw
car seemed to have lost control OF his
machine. The car jumped and leaped
along as if it were running without
control. AS the car swung a little
further on it's course it came up into
the air and struck the rail.
This iron barrier was torn away as
if it were a pipe stem, the car and
its occupants going over the embank
ment.
The men were so tightly crowded
into the seats that none had tried tc
jump from the car. AS the crashing OF
the car against the railing told the
story the car plunged forward and was
onuo1opod in darlnocS
The other machines occupants new
er stopped for moment, but KEPT
steadily on their way.
Once the Shaw car had plunged ovel
the embankment, drop of fifty-eigh1
feet, Spayd, Mortified at the accident
ran down to the coal pocket where
the car struck when it fell.
Spayd found the machine had over
turned and that the nine men were
buried in the mass of twisted stee.
that had been the automobile. There
was no sound from any of the victims
and Spayd thought all had been kill
ed in their fall.
Wilkes, Miller, Nevin, Shaw, Boyt
and another were dead, while thret
were unconscious and dying. All the
victims had received fractures of the
skull and in several cases nearly
broken I'm the case of six of the vic
tins all had been almost Instant!
killed.