The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1913-09-03
HAvILAND BOYS DEATH WILL NOT RESULT IN ARREST Coroner Phelan's Finding, As Intimated, Finds Fatality Was Not Due To Criminal
 Act Points Out Imperative Duty Of City And Contractors To Avoid Conditions That
 Brought Accident
 About

Coroner John J. PheIan's- finding in the inquest into the death of Tall
 madge Downs Haviland, the 10 years i old boy who succurnbed to injuries re- 1 sulting from collision between his bi- cycle and an" automobile driven by Albert U. Langenegger, exonerated 1angenegger, and as intimated in The Farmer, scores the city authorities for allowing slime and mud to accumulate
 under such conditions as brought about the fatality. i The finding says that death was 1 caused by cerebral concussion and in tercranfal hemorrhage. It goes on 1 to say:
 "On August 24th, 1913, about 11:30 l a. n., the deceased with his brother and two other boy companions were riding their bicycles easter1y along Fairfield avenue towards and under the railroad viaduct that crosses said avenue at it's intersection with Rail road avenue. At the time that part l of the travelled portion of said avenue that lay north of the north rail of the | south trolley track in the vicinity of and under said viaduct was closed to I and paving improvements then in pro gress thereon. The space available 1 for. public travel under said viaduct ! at the time named was from said north rail to the south abutment pier of said viaduct, space of about Is feet. This space had been previously paved and was in a sloppy and muddy condi- 1 ton. near it's west end and south of the south trolley track.
 t'At the time and in the condition 1 specified one Albert U. Langenegger 1 Of Bridgeport was driving his automo- bile westerly under said viaduct at | a speed of about 15 miles per hour ] along the south trolley track when | the forward end of the left mud guard
 of his machine coIlided with the bicy 1 cle of the deceased as the latter came eRsterly under said viadUct, throwing l the deceased into the street, where he l received the injuries above stated and from the effects of which he died on August 26th. 1913.
 ''The evidence showed that the right side wheels of the automobile was travelling within to inches of the 1 excavation north of the north rail of the trolley track with it's left side wheels running parallel to said abut | nent pier and about nine feet distant therefrom. Near to the west end of this nine foot space slinny mud had been permitted to accumulate, as above noted. There vas no obstruc- | ton of any kind in the space named, to interfere with the safe passing of the said automobile by the deceased other than the accumulation referred Hto- In view of the lack of evidence
 that the bicycle of the deceased slip
 ped or skidded against the auto and the testimony of Langenegger that the deceased turned his bicycle from the clear roadway into and against the
 mudguard of the automobile at the place where the sliny mud was deep est leads to the belief that the de-
 ceased miscalculated his distance from
 the auto and in an endeavor to avoid
 the mud by rounding 1t by turning
 to the left towards the path of the
 auto was caught by it's mudguard be-
 fore he completed his intended act.
 But whether this theory of the ac-
 cident be correct or not I am of the
 opinion that the accumulated mud and
 slime about the point of accident was
 a material factor in causing the cident, and death of the boy. In this
 regard I have but little hesitance in
 assuming it to be the imperative duty
 Of the city or it's contractors or both in reference to the streets and high ways of the city in process of re- pair. particularly as in this and like
 places where public improvements cur tail and narrow down the used road
 bed to public travel to keep them free
 from any obstruction or condition whatever inimicaI to public con venience and safety and further by
 causing such narrowed to o10structed places to be policed and guarded by suitable attendants whose duty it should be to advise and warn those l using such streets or highways of un
 usual conditions thereon jeopardizing l their safety or convenience.
 Prom the evidence taken in this
 case I find that Ta1lmadge Downs Havi1and came to his death at the | time and in the manner and from the cause above stated and that his death. was accidental. and further that I am
 satisfied that said death was not caus- ed by the criminal act, omission, or arelessness of any other person or
 persons.
 ''In accordance with the statute the | body of said deceased was delivered 1 to his parents for burial at Noun 1 tain. Grove CemeterY. Rridgeportr