The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-24
6By Staff correspondent)


 westport, July 24-Inquiry into the frightful trolley disaster of wednes- day night at Westport. before Coroner John J. Phelan of this city, this morning developed many important facts relating to the conduct of the Connecticut lines and the incidents which transpired just prior to the crash which changed joy into sadness and strewed the car and surrounding grounds with the dead, dying and ser iously injured.
 Among the principal features dis closed was the fact that those who died at the scene were horribly fnang- led from the crash which sent one car crashing over another for a dis tance of six feet, that, in the opinion of those familiar with trolley work. the excursion car was overloaded, and that cars passed upon the section by the mere wave of a hand. rather than by mechanical signal operation,
 Of subsidiary interest was the tes- Hnony of conductors upon other cars that there were many cars upon the section involved and that, while the lights of one signRl box was we'll lighted, another was dim and showed the effect of the power taken up by motors upon the line.
 The hearing before Coroner Phe- Ian, of Bridgeport. began in the large
 
 at Westport, promptly at II o'clock. Attorney David Fitzgerald of New Haven entered his appearance to re- present the interests of the trolley men held by the coroner. Seth M. Baldwin of New Haven, appeared for at the hearing were J. B. Potter, su- perintendent of the Norwa1Ez division and C. H. Chapman, superintendent of the Bridgeport division of the Con necticut Go. Fifty witnesses and many reporters crowded the room to it's capacity.
 The first witness to be- called was pr. Samuel H. Huntington, medical examiner of Norwalz, who related the cause of death of Frank Negry, of Steuhen St, Bridgeport, at the Nor walk hospital, between and 10 o'clock.
 Negry's injuries consisted of a crushed, left knee, a deeply lacerated left thigh, and a wound penetrating g to the abdominal cavity, which was apparently caused by the puncture of a larger splinter driven to the v1tals. Actual cause of death was given as Internal injuries and shock
 The next witness to take the stand was Dr. Frederick T. Powers, medical examiner of Westport. who testified to the causes of the death of the Full Ter and Townsend boys and Miss CIeve- land.
 pr. Powers stated that he had ar vfved upon the scene between 6:3 and $40 p. m., finding the Cleveland girl dead. In fact, at that time, all were dead. Miss Cleveland had frac- tured spinal column and her right side was horribly crushed, though it was stated to him that she had been taken out of the car alive and did not die for ten minutes. Her death was directly due to "shock and a fractured spinal column
 Andrew Thompson was said the doctor taken from the car alive. He was seen alive by-O. w. Peterson, of Westport Both legs were broken and crushed in several places as we'll as many other bones in the body being crushed. His death was officially caused bys general injuries sustained ," George Raymond Fuller died of a, broken neck and a rupture of the in testines. He must have expired in simultaneously.
 nr Powers testified that when he arrived upon the scene, the two cars were locked together. He said that he had been informed that the car had been overloaded and was coming at much faster speed than the ex- press car.
 With the conclusion of Dr. Powers testimony, Coroner Phelan called O. w Petersen, in front of whose home the accident occurred, who stated that the platform of the express car over lapped the platform of the trolley car a distance between six and seven feet Walter Smith, residing on Bell ave nue, Norwalk, motorman on the sec ond car following the express car that was wrecked, testified to his position in following the express up the hllI from Westport, leaving the bridge about $40 or 6:15 p. m- He was on an extra, run and had orders from Ro- ton Point received from Supt- Copely to proceed to Westport. At the Coun- try Club switch coming to Westport he met an extra and a regular car going to Norwalk. These two cars proceeded to Peet's Swamp.
 At this point and subsequently, the witness became very doubtful in his answers and had to be prompted con tinuaI1y by Coroner Phelan before he could be made to testify with any clarity, and constantly during the sub