Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1918-07-17
AUTOMOBILE PARTY
run into CULVERT
DOROTHY CONDOR RECEIVES Sc
WERE INJURIES-OTHER
SLIGHTLY BRUISED.
NEW AUTO is TOTAL WRECK
Dangerous Place Not Properly Pro-
tected With Danger Signals and
Proper Safeguards.

tected With Danger Signals and
Proper Safeguards.
Miss Dorothy Condor, daughter o.
Mr.. and Mrs. Richard Condor, CT thit
city, lies in critical condition as 8
result of injuries received in an auto
mobile accident, when the car she was
driving plunged headlong into an oper
culvert near Earlville.
It appears that Marion Satterlee
Harold Mead. and Miss Condor, and
Miss Ella Kohn had started to drive
to Earlville last Wednesday evening
in MIR. Satterlees car. Miss Condor
was driving the'car When in the out
skirts of the town of Earlville the
young people struck pile of rock
which Bridge Contractor S. T. Holdren
had left in the road, and after strik-
ing the rocks the car plunged head
long into the open ditch, at the base
of which the contractor had just put
in four by four culvert. The car
struck the ditch with such force as to
completely wreck the same, and the
occupants of the car were thrown
about violently, three of the young
people receiving minor bruises |and
a thorough shakeup. Miss Condor
was seated behind the steering wheel,
and was thrown against it with such
force as to bend the wheel and post,
and rendered unconscious.
Shortly after the accident W. H.
Lafferty happened along the highway
and took the injured girl to DR.. Mey-
thaler's office, where she was given
medical attention. For several days
her condition was extremely critical,
and grave fears were entertained as
to the outcome At this time her con-
dition is much improved and unless
unforeseen complications arise her
chances for recovery are very encour-
aging.
Much speculation has been indulg-
ed in since this accident, as to who
is responsible for this mishap. Nu-
merous motor drivers who have been
on the Hawkeye Highway state that
they have driven past this place and
that no danger signals were hung out.
County Engineer Klaus, we under
stand, also notified the contractor, to
place the proper safeguards at the
obstruction in the road. The contrac-
tor. on the other hand, declares that
he did place lanterns in the road, but
that two or three times boys had stol-
en- them and on other occasions
motorists had ignored the danger sig
nails and driven over the lanterns and
broken them. He declared that after
the red light signals had been de-
stroyed and ignored in this way he
believed he had done his full duty in
protecting the public, and all that was
there as signal was small flag
along side of the road. At the time
of the accident the contractor had
placed red lantern on the east side
of the culvert, several hundred feet
from the rock pile on the west side
of the ditch.
The spot where this unfortunate
accident occurred is at a point where
the driver of car has little chance OF
seeing a danger signal until he Is al
most at the spot, because of the hill
Just west of where the culvert is be-
ing built A barricade OF sufficient
strength should have been built
across the highway, with red light
attached to it, to give unmistakable
signs of danger. On the other hand,
it may be reasonable to suppose that
the four young people who were rid
ing in the car, were having a good
time, and paying little attention to
what might have been ahead. The
driver of the car being inexperienced,
undoubtedly became confused when
the car struck the rock pile, and fail
ed to stop the car, in time to prevent
the accident
A fortunate thing about this affair
is that the culvert had been erected,
and in going into the ditch the car on
ly dropped few feet. Had the con-
crete culvert not been in place the
car would have plunged into much
deeper ditch and turned over. In that
event all of the occupants might have
been killed. The new Hupmobile,
which Mr.. Satterlee purchased only a.
few weeks ago is a complete wreck,
and will have to be shipped to the
factory, to be rebuilt.