The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1916-04-08
Witness Described Course of
Cross Machine Out of
Montpelier
CRASH OCCURRED
SOON AFTERWARDS
Plaintiffs Testin' - Nearly
Completed .S .lch VS..
CIR . suit
-

cr ! suit
! When Washington county court was
adjourned by Judge Fred NJ. Butler this
noon until . o'clock Tuesday forenoon,
the plaintiff in the case of Seth c. Rich
vs. George NJ. Cross, was nearly ready to
rest the case and the defense will prob
ably start introducing witnesses Tues
day afternoon.
This forenoon Mr.. OBrien. employed
at the Bailey grist mill the last person to
see the Cross car before it took the
plunge down the ravine on Northfeld
street which resulted in the death of
Mrs. Seth G. Rich, told what he knew
! of the accident. He had accompanied a
| young lady to her home on Northfield
street and was starting on the return
trip to the city proper when he noticed
the automobile coming toward him,
bound for North6ed
His attention was first called to the
car by the lights of the machine as it
came over the crest of the hill and sped
past him. He was on the left hand side
of the road. 1t was his opinion that
the car was travelling rapidly As soon
as the machine left the road he ran back
to the scene and discovered the car with
fr b.
Mrs. Green was not in the car when he
reached it.
He was followed on the stand by Dr..
c. 4. Hunt, who testified that he visit
ed earlier to-day Miss Evelyn Brown,
the young lady who had been escorted
home on the night OF the accident by
Mr. OBrien and found her condition such
that she was able to come to court and
testify. Attorney Austin explained that
the young lady had asked to be excused
because of a severe cold. Arrangements
were made to have the lady appear Tues
day as she now resides six miles from
Montpelier
Russell Allen, chauffeur with several
years experience, who said he had been
employed at the Cutler garage in Barre
and the Cross garage in Northfield and
was now in the employ OF 7. A. Wright
Of st. Johnsbury, followed He told Of
seeing the Cross car in the Mortified
garage the morning following the acci
lent and described closely the damages
to the machine He said that he had
driven the car. a 1915 model, and had
made" the Mortified hill on the high
gear. 1t was possible, he believed, for
-he machine to obtain a speed of p
miles an hour on reaching the top or
he hill and it could be made to pick up
,peed from that point on past the scene
II the accident An examination of the
machine the morning following the acci
lent revealed to him a jammed front
ender, a broken running board on the
ight side, slightly crushed hood,
ahmed rear fender, the rear seat was
ent backward three or four inches, the
pholstering of the rear seat was torn
Il several places and the front axle aud
teering geer were slightly sprung. The
ight front wheel. which preceding wit
esses had testified was crushed, had
cen removed when he viewed the ear
nd q new wheel placed in its stead.
Yesterday afternoon City Engineer
eed, Police Officers Sloan and Baldwin.
,porter for a Montpelier paper, and
II. W. r. Hardness followed each other
n the stand in the order given.
Officers Sloan and Baldwin told OF he
g called to the scene of the accident,
the position of the car in the field
hen they arrived and OF taking Mrs.
ich to the hospital. She was in an un-
nscious state when they arrived AMI
as being held in a sitting posture By
man They followed up the tracks Of .
Ie automobile and found that tie car
I'd evidently started to leave the road
the crest of the hill and they found no
gns indicating the machine had been
Irned abruptly to one side or HAD skid
d. The autu was astrile a rock in
e field, the stones projecting up
rough the right running board. Cross
ID officer Sloan that he had turned out
r another automobile coming toward
M.
h. A. Kelly said that Cross had ap-
cached him about , o'clock in tbs
,rning and held conversation with him
atye 10 the accident. The witness
IA that Mr.. Gross speech was thick
4 was in state Of iutoNication. lie
ala not smell bis breath because his
l~e Of smell was nearly lost.
Richard Jerome and George Martin,
% other persons Who were az the srene
the accident. briefly told what they
3 observed at that time. the position
the ear and the damage done.
Dr. Harkue-s told of being called that
.ht and of attending tie injured wom
He returned 60 Northdeld streeb
er taking Mr. Rich to the hospital,
re attending her.