The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-08-24
GIRLS CAUGHT
UNDERAUTOHAVE
NARROW ESCAPE
Runaway Machine Backs
Over Tots and Pins Them
to Pavement.
TOY WAGONS SMASHED:
THEY AVOID WHEELS
GrOwn-ups Watch as Mary Cation
and Catherine Sheriff.
Are Struck.

Two little girls-Mary Cation ant
playmate, Catherine Sherrill-miracu
lousy escaped dangerous injuries be-
meath the wheels of a runaway auto,
mobile, when they were run down by
the car in front of the Cation girls
home on Bessie street Tuesday even
ing.
Details of the accident became
known last night, and at the same time
it was said that both children are re-
covering from the shock and minor
bruises and scratches they sustained
The children were playing on Bessie
street, riding in small wagon owned
by Jack Bergman, one of their COM
panions. Young Bergman is a son of
A. w. Bergman of Bessie street.
The runaway automobile is owned
by James Lowell of 1896 Bessie street,
and it had been stopped in front of the
Lowell home in the evening by Odell
Lowell, 18-year old son of Mr.. Lowell.
The car had not been backed into the
curb, however, to. hold on the hill at
that point, and suddenly the brake be-
came released when there was no one
in or near the machine.
The car slowly started down the hill
and several yards further down the
hill the two little girls were playing
with the wagon. They were directly
in the path of the backing machine
The car gained speed as it continued
down the hill.
Several men and women sitting on
their front porches watched the ma
chine back down the hill and saw the
children in the path of the car, but
made no effort to sound a warning,
because they believed that Odell Lowell
occupied the drivers seat and would
sound the cars horn.
The two children afterward said
they saw the machine approach but ex-
pected it to be guided past them and
thought the driver would sound horn.
As a consequence, in the full view
of nearly dozen spectators, the ma
chine smashed into the little wagon
occupied by the two girls and started
to pass over them. The children were
knocked to the ground with the
wheels passing on either side of their
wheels passiog on either side of their
bodies and not touching them.
After the car had passed nearly over
them, it was stopped by the combined
obstructions of the two children and
the debris of the wagon which had
been smashed to bits beneath the
wheels of the motor car.
Men who witnessed the accident ran
to the rescue of the children, but were
unable to extricate the two girls, by
reason of the fact that they were pin
ned too tightly beneath the machine.
Not until Odell Lowell had started
the engine and slowly moved the cal
off of them was it possible to get them
from beneath the car.
Neither of the two girls was in
jured seriously. The Cation girl is q
daughter of Mr.. and Mrs. E. A. Cation
the insurance man of 1929 Bessie
street, and the Sheriff. child isa daugh-
ter of A. w. Sheriff. of ALI North
| Boulevard.
Yesterday after the initial accident
with the Lowell machine, Odell Lowell
had his left arm badly wrenched anG
sprained when he was cranking the
machine. The engine back-fired as he
endeavored to crank the car and the
handle of the crank ierked his arm sc
that the muscles of the entire arm anG
left shoulder were badly sprained. The
elbow also was injured
A doctor was summoned last night
and found the muscles swollen, and he
declared that it will be several days
before young Lowell will be able to use