The Chickasha daily express. (Chickasha, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1899-current, 1917-01-23
Says Hill Which Led TO Canyon Where
Mrs. Bennett Met Death is
Dangerously Graded
TOP OF REQ CAR ALONE
SAVED FOUR OTHERS
Miraculous Escape From Destruction on
Steep Incline Leading to
Narrow Valley

That Mrs. j. NJ. Bennett had he
neck broken and died instantly in tn,
wreck four miles from town near tn,
Baker farm Sunday night was the dec
Iaration of J. c. Rlckerts who proha
bly, knows more of what happened
than did the dazed occupants of the
car. Mr.. Rickerts spent the entire
day yesterday at the scene Of the trag-
edy, and after going over the ground
in daylight and crossing the dangerous
hill Immediately after the REQ had
made its fatal plunge, gives the fol-
flowing version
III is q most dangerous place. he
stated. "and | believe that the county
is responsible fer the accident. The
hill is a steep one to descend and has
been badly worked. The bridge be-
yond it is so fragile that It quiyers
even under the load OF buggy The
hill had been recently graded and the
dirt was soft. Instead Of being bank
ed toward the center Of the road it Is
banked off and leads toward the can
yon beyond which is probably the most
dangerous spot in the entire country
and car is disposed to slip from the
center Of the road instead Of keeping
to 1t.
"The canyon into which the car
plunged is not over four and half
feet wide at the bottom and its sides
slope almost perpendicularly, probably
at an angle Of eighty degrees. So
steep is it that it required fourteen
men to pull the body Of Mrs. Bennett
to the top and on to the road In a cot,
the men being unable to get a good
foothold in the shale and had to keep
at each others backs in order to allow
the cot to be elevated to such an an
gle as to keep the injured woman from
falling out Of it.
i do not believe that Wood was go
ing at rate exceeding twenty Or
twenty-five miles an hour and when
he struck the hill, which was freshly
graded, his car probably skidded when
1t hit the soft dirt and shot into the
canon beyond. Following him | had
to use great caution. My back wheels
locked, and | had to use care in keep
ing to the road
THE only thing which saved the
lives Of the other four occupants was
that the top was up Otherwise, in |
going almost straight down for twenty
1ne feet, they would have been thrown |
out of the car first and then caught |
it when the car turned |
oyer, which It did twice
When found the car Mrs. Bennett
was sitting in the back seat at tho left I
side with her head thrown back over
he rear OF the seat and the bow across
Ter She probably broke her neck
when the car turned over for the first
ime and she was closely pressed by
Mrs Woods who was jammed against
he side of the canon and we had to
'emove the bow before we could get
he women out. The boy, little dog
md a small pig were safely seated in
he bottom Of the car during the entire
icfion and were not hurt. The two
men were dazed and Bennett was bad
Y bleeding. They did not know
inough to hold the flash light while
emmett McCaulla and I got the wo-
nen out. The boy had already left
he car and was clambering up the hill
,rying when ! met him.
THE men could not tell anything
bout what had happened. They said
hey did not know
After taking Mrs Bennett to the
ambulance I returned to Bennett and
old him his wife was dead which was
he first he had known Of it. Bennett
vas placed in the car Of VIII Rose,
which was in the collision later on,
nd taken to the hospital and then to
lis home.
Both women were pinned over the
Jack Of the seat with the bows and
drs. Bennett was jammed up against
he dirt at the side OK the canon. Mrs.
Woods was in intense agony and suf-