The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1919-07-12

TO FIX BLAME
FOR AUTO DIVE
Camp Humphreys Officers to In
Vestigate Plunge in Which
Six Were Killed. Il

sponsibility for the accident in which
six soldiers Of Camp Humphreys wer,
killed early today today has been ap-
ppointed by Maj. Gen. c. A. F. Flag
Ter, commanding officer Of the camp.
The six soIdiers-two Officers, three
enlisted men, and a civilian Iaborer
in uniform employed at the CAMP
were killed at 1890 o'clock this morn
ing when an automobile truck IN
which they were riding bounded of
the causeway of the bridge aver
Greater Hunting Creek, south CT
Alexandria
Eleven enlisted men were injured.
Private Ernest Turner, colored, Of
Portsmouth, Va, seriously.
The dead:
Capt Charles H. Jabureck, infantry,
22l6 Eewbold avenue, New York city.
Capt c. A Heilman, engineer
corps, 1885 FOrty-hfth street, Brook
lyn, n. Y.
Corp. Albert P. Ehnie. of McKcos-
port, Pa
Private VOORHEES, Baptiste, colored,
Of New Iberia, La.
BUgler Joel z. Spetz, twenty-threO
years old, OF Brooklyn, n. Y.
Charles Novotny, twenty-five years
- Va
Va
Captain Jabureck was a reserve Of
hcer and was assigned to Camp Hum
phreys last year. He was in COM
mand OF the Forty-second Separate
Company, Engineer Officers Training
School. A change OF orders yester-
day had assigned him to the salvage
division Of the camp supply office.
Captain Heilman, of the Fifth
United States Engineers, was on regi-
mental duty at the camp. He was
also a reserve officer.
Mrs. Newton D. Baker. with Col.
and Mrs. Charles Patterson, were
returning from a dance at Camp
HUMPHREYS last night and arrived on
the scene OF the accident two minutes
after the truck had overturned
Held Up BY an. Pr
The car was held up by a military
policeman, who. pointing his pistol
ct the chauffeur, ordered the occu-
pants Of the car to get out He then
told Of the accident. Colonel Patter-
son took charge Of the rescue work,
while Mrs. Baker and Mrs. Patterson
rushed to the hospital in Alexandra
and told the physicians there to be
ready to receive the injured.
By stopping every car that came
and ordering the passengers to get
into the water, Colonel Paterson got
the truck riEhted and rescued the
bodies from beneath.
The driver of the army truck and
the driver of the military police pa
trol, which passed the truck on the
bridge over Greater Hunting Creek,
were arrested this morning and lock-
ed CD at the camp. They will be
held until the investigating board
80
The board is composed Of Col. Rob-
eFt P. Howell, chairman; Major Wal
ter l. Simpson, Capt. Z. r. Klam and
Capt. John H Conroy. Captain Con-
roy belongs to the medical corps; the
others are engineer officers.
Major Charles Norris, the camp in |
spector, visited De Names mortYary
chapel this morning and computed /
Identification Of the men who were |
killed. He sent out kilograms to the I
relatives Of the men, asking what dis 1
position should be made Of the bodies |
swerved For PafroL :
From an account of the accident by !
Private Ernest Turner, colored, the
most seriously injured, who lies in J.
Alexandria Hospital with a broken
hip, The Times learned that the mill
tary police patrol tried to pass the ,
truck as the heavy. machine reached |
che opposite end OF the bridge, going 4
20 Camp Humphreys. Turner said l
that when the driver Of the truck /
heard the horn OF the approaching 4
machine he sweTved sharply to the
right
when the police patrol back Of US |
sounded its horn" declared the in 4
3ured man, "the driver gave the steer \
ing gear a jerk and the car careened |
20 the right. The first thing we
knew the wheels Of the truck had |
caught under it. Then I jumped. ! |
landed about five feet from the truck. \
j turned over. The men were un- /
der it, We took poles that were lying l
nv the side OF the bridge and pried the /
truck over on its side. When we pull
ed the men out they were dead"
The injuries Of the eleven soldiers /
who survived the crash, consist fer .
the most part OF cuts and bruises. |
they were taken by the military F..
police squad first to Alexandra Hos
-ip4kal. snAlbRz-So Camp Humphreys.
The police patrol also took the bodies .
ef the dead men to the hospital. /
Physicians there tried to revive them.
but their efforts were futile.
Returning from Washington.
The officers had been to entertain
yuents in Washington and Alexandra.
The two coIored soldiers had attend
ed q homecoming celebration given
for colered soldiers at Alexandria.
The remainder of the soldiers had
been away from the camp most Of
the day. some Of them to Washington
and others In Alexandria.
The truck was one OF the regular
vehicles that leave Alexandria eVsryf
night to carry furloughed men hack
20 thu enRinSer post
The Officers and enlisted men were
all stationed at Camp Humphreys.
They were unknnRn to each others,
and ferztAis reason, the military Gu-
thoritief kad to check over the rolls
this morning to identify the dead. The
bodies Of the men who met their
death either by being crushed under
the machine or by drowning are At
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