The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-03-20
DIDN'T EVEN STOP
Auto Speeders Injured Entire
Family Near Topeka.
Scattered Man and -Four ChIi-
dren Over the Road.
POLICE HUNTING FOR DRIVERS
Had Two New Cars Driving
From Kansas City.
Motorists Paid No Attention TO
Their Victims.
POLICE HUNTING FOR DRIVERS

Two men, known now to the ponce
and sheriff only as John Doe" and
Richard Roe who brought two new
Overland cars to Topeka Sunday from
Kansas City are wanted for wrecking
the surrey of A. T. Norris, five miles
southeast of Topeka and scatter
ing the Norris family OF five all over
the road.
Warrants were issued by w. e.
Atchison, county attorney. this morn
ing and L. L. Kiene, sheriff, believes
he will have the two men before night.
One man is charged with a felony
the one who actually struck the sur
rey. The other is charged with a mis-
demeanor. 1t was only good fortune
that saved several members of the
Norris family from death yet neither
of the drivers stopped in his mad
flight toward Topeka.
Sheriff Kiene has already secured
information to the effect that two new
Overlands were brought to Topeka last
night Norris found piece broken
from the car that hit his rig and
brought the piece to town. If the au-
tomobile is found 1t will not be hard
to identify it and from that it will be
but step to discover who drove the
| cars to Topeka.
Mr.. Norris came to town this morn
ing to bring one of his children to a
! physician. Norris is badly bruised and
the child may be seriously injured.
The other three children. all girls, are
bruised black and blue this morning.
Norris told his story at police head
quarters and was taken from there to
! the court house.
Going Home From Church.
| 81 was taking the family home from
church in our surrey yesterday" he
said, land We were near the Benham
school house when l saw two cars
coming from the east They stopped
some distance away and it looked to
me like they were drinking. Then
they came on. 1 was just at a corner
where L intended to turn when the
car caught up with me. In spite of
the fact that l was turning to the left
the first car shot by me on the left,
just barely missing US. The other car
apparently tried the same stunt.
THE driver had to swing out of the
main road in order to hit me. / don't
know whether he was swerving out in
or.ier to make a turn to the right or
what he was trying to do. But he
struck our buggy right fair and square
and demolished it. The car took the
! whee,S off the surrey and threw them
twenty-five feet away. 1t scattered
the children all over the road and 1
| death. L was unconscious for a time
and the first 1 knew was when they
were taking me to a doctor. Appar-
emily none of the children is danger
ously injured but the boy was suffer-
ing today and l brought him to town.
THE children saw the man who
drove the car that hit us, never even
looked back. 1 judge they were trav-
cling thirty or thirty-five miles an
| hour"
The driver who struck the surrey
| is charged with a felony because he
| did not stop after he struck the rig.
If he is captured and convicted he
! will be subject to a penitentiary sem
tence. The other, the one who missed
the Norris rig, is merely charged with
| a misdemeanor, due to careless and
dangerous driving.
A young man riding a motorcycle
passed the wreck shortly after the ac-
cident and rode after the speeding
automobiles to get their numbers. He
| reported later that they carried no
numbers, that they were brand new
cars.