The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1918-04-24
KILLED IN SMASH
Topeka Boy Dashed To Death
From Motorcycle.
Accident Happened Near the
Gage Park Entrance.

Newton Lane Whitney of 631 West
street is dead with a crushed skull as
the result of a motorcycle accident
near the entrance to Gage park on the
West Sixth street road about 9 O'Clock
Tuesday night. David Boggs, 1929
Redden avenue, who was carrying
Whitney as a tank passenger, was re-
leased from the Santa Fe hospital
about noon today with a badly cut
head, a much scratched up face and a
badly cracked left arm. Five other
motorcyclists who were riding with
Whitney and Boggs are shorty
Miller, state motorcycle policeman:
Fred Bracket, son of the inventor of
the Bracket stripping machine; Royal
Gublick, ]. S. Mitchell, and a farmer
boy who recently purchased a new
machine but whose name could not be
learned.
The nurses at the ST. Francis hos
pital said that about o'clock in the
evening they say party of motor
cyclists pass the hospital at high rate
of speed. It is said that one of the
nurses exclaimed, zone of those boys
is sure to be killed.
From the story told by Boggs the
party was going west on the Sixth
street road and had just slowed down
to take the turn into Gage park. Boggs
was the next to the last man in line.
and a horse hitched to a sulky backed
in front of his machine. Boggs says
that he hit the hind wheel of the
sulky and docs not remember any
thing after that until he was in the
hospital"
Horse Became Frightened.
From the story told by Miller it ap-
pears that two men and the horse
hitched to the sulky were passed by
the other members of the party and
by himself and apparently the horse
was much frightened at the passing
of so many machines. Miller says
that he was at the head of the party
and that he went clear thru the park
and was on his way back to town be-
fore he knew anything at all about the
accident. Miller says that his first
knowledge of the smash was when he
saw the motorcycle lying in the road
a sitting position by the men who
were driving the horse responsible for
the accident.
How 1t Happened.
I'VE went to the Railroad Y. NJ. c.
A. early in the evening and took a
bath" said Boggs in telling the story
of the accident Then we went rid
ing, going first to Garfield park where
Fred Bracket wanted to try out a
new spotlight. Then we rode up and
down Kansas avenue once or twice and
turned west on Sixth street We had
been speeding. but had slowed down
to turn into Cages when the acci-
dent happened. l was the next to
the last machine in the party and L
was the only rider who was carrying
d passenger. The machines ahead of
me must have been about half blocn
away when I hit the sulky. When |
saw the horse I tried to turn around
it but didn't make the boat and hit
the wheel. And that is all that l
remember.
1t is thought that Whitney's skull
was crushed when he was thrown
from his seat on the motorcycle tank
Apparently his skull was crushed by
contact with the road. The whole
back of Whitney's head at the base o.
the brain was smashed in He neV r
regained consciousness after the acci-
dent.
Boggs said that Miller saw the blood
on his face and took him to a small
pond nearby and washed the blood
away. The Whitney boy and Boggs
were loaded into a passing automo-
bile and taken to st. Francis hospital
The hospital authorities said this
morning that the Whitney boy was at
the ST Francis for about an hour when
he was sent to the Santa Fe hospital
for treatment. Both Boggs and Whit
nev were Santa Fe employees.
Up to a late hour this afternoon the