Evening star., 1919-10-13
Vehicle Is Carried 20
Yards and Then
Topples Over.
EIGHT OF INJURED ARE
IN SERIOUS CONDITION
Conductor Arrested - Accident
Occurs at Georgia Avenue
and Dahlia Street.


persons injured-nine severely-whcn
q Capacity-j -jammeJ city-bound car of
the Washington Railway and Electric
Company crashed into four-ton
Army truck at Georgia avenue and
Dahlia street. at s o'clock this morn
ing, carried the truck twenty yards
OF It's front platform and toppled the
truck over on it's side when it passed
trolley pole.
Edward l.. Sothern, private first
class. of the Q. NJ. c. deta chment,
who was standing in the rear of the
truck when it was hit. was killed,
probably when the truck turned on its
side. His skull was crushed.
Conductor Is Arrested.
Benjamin Hawkins. conductor of the
car. who received a few cuts and
bruises, was arrested and is being
held at the tenth precinct pending an
investigation.
Coroner hewitt arrived on the scene
at S:45. inspected the wreckage and
stated that an inquest would be held
only if a civilian had been killed.
Witnesses declared that the car was
speeding down Georgia avenue and
that there had been no warning.
The crash came at the intersection
of the street. The car struck the
truck just below the seat of the
driver. pushed il at right angles ap-
proXimately fiftyfive feet, when the
hood of the machine crashed into a
trolley pole. The pole held the hood.
according to witnesses. while the car
pushed the rear of the truck COM
pletely off the track toward the pole
and toppled il over. The pole was
uprooted and carried thirty-seven
feet and six inches, according to
measurements taken.
When the pole was lifted a conduit
leading to Walter Reed Hospital. fur
nishing the lighting power for the
larger buildings, was broken, and the
current shut off.
The car coasted to a distance of 161
feet from the crossing, according to
measurements taken.
Four Men in Truck.
In the truck were four men-Dobe.
the driver; Sothern. who was kill
cd. Hoover and Sergt. Roudebush-of
the Quartermaster Corps. The last
named had Il narrow escape from
death.
Il was standing in the stirrup," he
said. spea king of the left running
board. which was the spot hit by the
car. when ! noticed the car shooting
down Georgia avenue toward us.
jumped back from the truck. cleared
the track and looked around. just
as looked i saw the crash. The ear
simply pushed the big truck in front
OF it
Sergt. jerome Lawler, sitting on his
cot in the barracks, declared that he
saw the crash. He said the car was
crowded with passengers and that the
a mOtOrman, as far as he could see. did
not SiackeD pace before the collision
Rush Injured to Hospital.
The injured were in the hospital
before half an hour had passed after
the time of the accident. At 1915.
with five special teams working in
The operating rooms. every injured
person had been treated. Hospital
authorities handled the cases with re-
markable smoothness and dispatch,
according to several of the wounded.
Col. l. B. McAfee has been assigned
TO the investigation of the accident
by War Department authorities. Some
time ago, he said this morning. he
wrote to officials of the Washington
Hallway and Electric Company re-
Eardng the speed with which cars
were passing the hospital. This was
shortly after another accident. which
occurred at almost the same spot,
killing one person, several weeks ago.
Car of Old Type.
hTe car was No. 81. which is one of
the old types Of cars In the service.
il is similar to the type of car which
fell over at I'd and X streets some
time ago. with seats running paral-
1el with the windows. II was equip
ped with an air brake.
Carroll Nash of 1926 l. street south
east, motorman, is alive by miracle
Jiis post is mass of twisted steel
from the controller and air brake
The entire front. platform of the cai
Is mass of ruins. That he is not
dead, police and Investigators regard
ss slightly short Of supernatural
Vice President S. r. Bowen of th'
Washington Railway and Electric
Company with a corps of invcstiEa-
tors arrived on the scene shortly after
:, o'clock. He said that no statement
&ouid be issued by the company unit
a. thorough investigation had beer
made
Col NlcAfee. at the hospital de
Clared that he intended to follow VI
with an investigation. Lieut. c. {
Campbell. in charge of automobiles
and trucks. at the hospital. declared
that Dobe was the best driver in th'
G-tarhment He announced his IN
I"ntion of submitting a suit for dam
ages to the truck.