St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1916-08-09
FIVE ARE UNHURT
AutO-truck With Load Of Eight
Was Returning From Trip To
Mountains In Company With Two
Other Machines--All Are Pinned
Under Wreck When Right Rear
Wheel COllapses Causing Car To
Turn Over

Albert Il. Douglas, the town road
commissioner, was killed and two
others injured out of a party of eight
in an automobile accident that took
place at o'clock Sunday night be-
tween the BlOdgett and Mark Hovey
bury when one of the wheels of the
machine collapsed, causing the car to
run up a bank and turn over end for
end. The entire party was pinned be-
that arrived from a car just ahead
they were extricated and none were
found to be seriously injured except
Mr.. Douglas, although a later exam
ination found Joseph DucIose suffer-
ing from a fractured collar bone and
Mrs. Ernest Fontaine severely bruis-
ed about the back and chest and with
possible internal injuries.
MFR. Douglas was on the the return
with party of his road employees and
their wives from a trip to the noun
tains in the big Jeffery truck owned
by the town.
The party composed of Mr.. and
Mrs. Joseph Duclose, Mr.. and Mrs
Ernest Fontaine, Dennis Lapoint and
wife and Joseph Baril, together with
two other machine loads, one of
which was jdriven by William Doug
las, son 7of the dead man, left St.
Johnsbury about s o'clock Sunday
morning for trip to the mountains.
There were 20 in all in the party.
On the return trip Mrs. Douglas
was in the first car to return and
reached home before she heard of
the accident. But the car driven by
the son, William, was a short distance
ahead of the big truck when the ac-
cident occurred.
According to William Douglas story
they were proceeding at a rate be-
tween 20 and 25 miles an hour
when those in the rear seat heard
something crack and turning they
saw the car turn up the bank and
turn completely over end for end and
crash down with its occupants be-
meath. They hurried back and lifted
the car enough to Aliberate those who
were uninjured. The son, William
Douglas, was the first to reach the
scene and after helping to remove his
father from the wreck hurried to his
car and drove home where he put in
an emergency call. DR.. Miltimore and
the ambulance from Stanley's re-
sponded. Albert Douglas lived about
five minutes after the doctor arrived.
The remains were taken to Stanley's
undertaking parlor, where it was
found that the body was terribly
crushed. The base of the skull was
fractured, the ribs on both sides
broken, one hip fractured, forehead
1Nr.1 H. l.
bruises all over the body.
When the machine struck, the heavy
upright to the canopy top evidently
saved the occupants from greater in
jury if not death. Even though some
of the supports were broken off COM
pletely while other were bent double,
they held up some of the weight of
the car.
Some in the machine at the time of
the accident said that something gave
way, evidently on one of the wheels. |
The machine veered to the side of
the road, struck a stone or some 9TH |
er projection and started up the bank, |
turning over and landing bottom up, |
the hood of the machine facing the |
direction from which they had been
coming. The machine was a COM
plete wreck The hind wheel on the /
right hand side, which is thought to
have caused the trouble, was stripped |
to the hub, every spoke being broken |
off close
Men from Wright's garage were |
over two hours getting theheavy truck |
In shape to bring it to the repair /
shop.
Many people went to the scene of
the accident and the roadway was lin
ed with autos filed with people who
were travelling to and from the place, :