Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1918-05-24
NEARLY KILLED
ON "JOY RIDE"
Phil Aines' Life Still In Bal
ance
Mystery Of Unusual Accident Not Yet
Cleared-Alleged Car Was
Stolen
ance

Unusual and as yet unexplainable
circumstances surround an automobile
accident which occurred early last Sun.
day in which Philip Deane Aines, a
well.known student at Middlebury Col
lege and son OF Mr. and Mrs Solomon
B, Aines of Al South Street, Middle.
bury, nearly lost his life at New Haven,
Conn, last Sunday morning. Young
Aines, with skull fractured, pelvis brok-
en- and with internal injuries, has been
in the New Haven hospital lowering
between life and death ever since the
accident, and though it is reported
that he is partly conscious, he was up
to this morning still in too critical
condition to be removed to the X.ray
room of the hospital for examination
First news of the accident reached
here Sunday bringing with it a confu-
sion of reports, 1t was at first said, and
also reported in daily papers, that Roy
Sears of Ludlow, who was a graduate
of the college last year. was also a vic.
tim Of the accident, but The Register,
upon inquiry at Sears home found this
was altogether untrue Sears family
had heard the report and in great alarm
had called up the Hadley School, where
he is an instructor in French at Hol.
yoke, Mass, and to their delightful sur
prise they found he was in his class
room safe and sound and had not in
any way figured in the accident,
S, B. Aines, upon receiving telegram
Sunday, telephoned at once to the New
Haven hospital and learning that his
son was so dangerously injured he and
Mrs Aines left on the sleeper for New
Haven The two have been at his bed,
side during the week Mr. Aines is
well-known as manager Of the c. L
Marshall store, and both he and Mrs
Aines have a host Of friends in Middle
bury who have felt deeply for them up
on hearing that their only son was the
victim of so terrible an accident.
Young Aines had left Middlebury last
Edmund v Butler at the latters home
in Wallingford, Conn Butler entered
college here a year ago last fall, but
had dropped out last year thinking he
would enter the service. He and Aines
were fraternity mates in the Alpha Sig
ma Phi. 1t appears that on Saturday
the two young men left Buffers home
in Wallingford for trip to New Haven.
The accident occurred at o'clock
Sunday morning, which was a matter
of only few minutes before press time
on the New Haven Sunday papers,
and the report which was printed in
the Sunday editions was naturally one
of such facts as could be hurriedly
cleaned and great confusion existed as
to the identity of the injured men The
New Haven paper contained the fol-
lowing, errors and all:
Tearing around a sharp curve half
a mile outside of North Haven at
terrific rate of speed in high powered
which they had taken for
a "joy ride from in front of Heub-
lein's early in the evening, Philip Sears
Philip AinesO, %, of Rutland, mid
dlebury), VT, and E. v Buckley but
lerl %, of Meriden (Wallingfordl be-
lieved to be Yale students, were prob
ably fatally injured early this morning,
as the machine overturned and crashed
them to the ground, Sears (AinesD at
three O'Clock this morning was reported
to be dying, while Buckley Butler is
also critically hurt and has a possible
fracture of the skull
"At the time of the accident the men
were being pursued in another car by
Sheriff Gustave Uhl of North Haven.
Continued on page five