Evening capital and Maryland gazette. (Annapolis, Md.) 1910-1922, 1917-10-16
LITTLE BOY KILLED
BY AUTOMOBILE BUS
Stevens Mitchell Steps Into Side Of
West Shore Transit Co.'S Auto.
STATEMENT OF EYE WITNESS
Boy's Father Missing. Chilfs Death
Shrouded With Pathos of DirefaI
Circumstances.

OHCuWStduCcSs
Shortly before five O'Clock yester-
day afternoon an accident occurred
on West street, which resulted before
midnight in the death of the victim,
Urban Stevens Mitchell. Jr., age 5
years, son of Urban S. and Pearl
Stevens Mitchell, of this city.
The child, a mere baby, lives with
his mother at the home of his grand
parents, Alderman and Mrs John f.
Stevens. 50 Madison street With.
other children, the little one had been
playing in the street, when the acci-
dent occurred. The victims and two
other boys had been riding out West
street on an ice wagon of the Parlett
and Parlett Company. The other two
little boys jumped off but Stevens Nit
chell remained on the ice wagon un-
til it reached the street on which he
lived with his grandparents. Just as
the little fellow alighted TO the
ground the big automobile bus of the
West Shore Transit Company came
along and not seeing the bus, the boy
ran into the side of the huge car and
was ground beneath the wheels, the
hind wheels passing over his body.
The chauffeur did not even see the
child and is wholly exonerated from
blame by eye-witnesses to the acci-
dent, one of whom, Mr.. ]. w Putnam,
of 1923 Munsey Building, Baltimore,
makes the following statement:
I'm justice to the driver and all
concerned, | feel it my duty to make
this statement of the accident that
occurred in Annapolis yesterday
afternoon just after leaving the W.,
B. & A. station. when the bus in
which I was riding ran over a small
boy
Il was on the rear, left-hand seat,
just over the left rear wheel with my
arm resting partly out the window.
This window was up as high as it
would go. I Judge | was seven feet
behind the driver
Il was looking out the raised win
dow at the smaller bus ahead l
Judge it was % to 40 feet ahead of
us and probably 4 or feet to the left
of us.
my vision was suddenly directed to
the ground as / saw some swiftly
moving object approach the car. My
first view of the boy was not more
than four feet away from the car. He
was running rapidly with his head
down and he struck the car just in
front of the rear wheel. The jar of
the car as the rear wheel passed over
him was almost simultaneous A
woman screamed, and the driver i'm
mediately stopped the car. He ran
back to where the boy was lying just
as some man picked him up.
1.-The accident occurred so quickly
it would have been humanity impos-
sible to have prevented it. / was un-
der the impression that the driver
could not have seen the boy. | ask
ed him afterwards if he saw him, and
he told me that he did not did not
have time from the second / saw the
boy until he was lying mashed on the
road to open my mouth.
Il view ii as one of those regret
able accidents that was impossible to
prevent.
My theory is that the boy saw the
| first bus but did not see the second
one. and ran across the street with
his head down. The boy darted out
! from behind the front car probably
not more than two feet in front of
! our car, and our car had gone only
half it's length when he struck it. I
am sure had better view of the ac-
cident than anyone in our car"
The little fellows tragic death is
shrouded in pathos, because of exist
ing circumstances. The whereabouts
of his father is unknown, he having
disappeared several weeks ago Mr.
Mitchell was employed as a pay
masters clerk in the Naval Academy
when he disappeared, and his ac-
counts are alleged to be several thou
sand dollars short A call has been
issued by the Federal authorities to
apprehend the fugitive.
Another child of Mr. and Mrs. Nit
chell died about year ago, and there
are other circumstances connected
with the misfortune of the little fel-
lows tragic death that make it pecu-
liarly sad
The injured boy was taken imme-
diately to the Emergency Hospital
where his death occurred about II
O'Clock last night
The funeral will take place tomor-
row, Wednesday. afternoon at 3
O'Clock. from the residence Of his
grandfather. John F. Stevens, 50 Madi-
son street. Interment will be in
Cedar Bluff Cemetery.
Not Mr.. Bailliere OF Annapolis.