Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1913-10-22
AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS.
o. +. Ode Injured as Winton Six
Turns Turtle. Waters Thrown
Upon Railroad Track.

". L. Oue, the SdlUldT banker,
and an automobile party had mar
row escape from death in an acct
dent on Saturday evening, in which
all of the party escaped injury save
Mr.. Ode, who was driving the car.
With his wife, Mr.. Holverson and
the Misses Miller he was driving be-
tween Calmar and Festina, and
about two miles south of Calmar
turned out quickly to avoid a mud
dy place in the road, when the car
swerved off into the ditch and turn
ed turtle. Mr.. Holverson jumped
clear of the car, but the others were
pinned underneath it. The Misses
Miller were gotten out easily, and
Mrs. Ode was held fast with the
car on her ankle, but was rescued
without injury. Mr.. Ode was
caught under the steering gear,
which was broken across his Shout,
der, and his clavicle and two ribs
were broken, besides being badly
bruised. At first he was thought
very seriously injured, but upon be-
ing taken home it was found that
this was the extent of his injuries,
and he will be confined to his home
only a few days. Fortunately the
car In turning over fell onto some
willow trees, which kept its weight
partly off the ground, otherwise the
entire party might have been fatally
or seriously injured Mr.. Ode was
driving his Winton Six, and the car
was not badly damaged. His many
friends throughout the county are
much gratified to learn that the &C
cident was not so serious as at first
reported.
Sunday afternoon an accident oc-
Cured at the railroad crossing be-
tween Ossian and Castalia, where
the road turns abruptly across the
track, which fortunately did not re-
suit in serious injury to anyone,
but shows that there are people
driving automobiles in this part of
Iowa as well as elsewhere who
ought to be doing time behind the
bars, if the facts are as reported to
us. 1t appears that George Waters
of near Postville, his brother and a
neighbor were driving home from
Frankville in the formers Ford,
and as they neared the railroad
crossing noted above, they saw a big
touring car coming up the road
with the speed of the wind. Mr..
Waters pulled mis- Ford clear to one
side and off the road SO as to let
the big car pass, and stopped near
the track. The approaching car did
not seem to slacken its pace but
struck the high crossing at terri
sfic speed and seemed to fairly jump
into the air, diving straight into the
Ford and literally throwing it over
directly onto the track, pinning Mr..
Waters under it. Luckily it was a
light car and he was easily extri-
Gated, but what matters most is the
fact that the driver of the big car
failed to stop when he realized that
he had struck another auto, and
sped on toward Calmar as fast as
possible, with scarcely a look back
ward. 1t was all done so quickly |
that they did not get the number of
the car, or recognize the occupants, |
but turned their attention to right
ing their car and extricating Mr.. |
Waters from under it, on the track. |
Had he been alone, he might have
been struck by train. Such in
sane drivers ought to be dealt with |
severely. Verify, the problem of |
the auto and the highway becomes
a more serious enc every day.
Rev. X. Seehuus of Big Canoe
nearly lost his automobile on Satur-
day from fire. 1t caught afire at |
his home, but ne succeeded in ex-
the fire before it caused |
much damage. The loss is only a
few dollars