The star-progress. (Opelousas, La.) 1917-1921, 1921-07-20
BAQUE And WIFE
SECURE JUDGMENT
AGAINST THE CITY
Court Awards Parents of
Electrocuted Boy the
Sum of S12, 1892
DEFENDANT APPEALS
TO HIGHER COURT
Litigation Result of Sudden
Death of Fred Baque
Last Spring

Before adiourning for the summer,
Judge Pavy last Friday rendered a
judgment in the damage case entitled
Edmond Baque and wife versus the
City Of Opelousas, wherein the court
awarded the plaintiffs in the case
damages in the sum of $12,743.92 for
the loss of their son from electrocu-
tion by a live wire of the city last
February.
The case was hard fought one, the
plaintiff being represented by a strong
array of legal talent in the persons
of Dudley L. Guilbeau, L. Austin Fon-
tenot and Alex Swords, while the city
attorney, Peyton R. Sandoz, was as
sisted by special counsel in the per
son of E. B. Dubuisson.
Much time was required in the TAX
ing of testimony, the city attempting
to show contributory negligence on
the part of the deceased boy. The
court, however, in reviewing the case.
paid little heed to this particular
point.
The case will be appealed to the
supreme court after application for
new trial. The high court is now adj
journed and will not resume sittings
until October. II the appeal takes
the usual procedure the case will be
tied up in the high court for two or
three years before final judgment is
handed down. and if the Judgment Of
the lower court is affirmed the plain
tiffs will get the amount awarded
them with five per cent interest from
judicial demand, in itself consider
able sum.
Fred Baque, the dead boy, was
about fourteen years of age and at
the time Of his death was in the en-
ploy of the Roos company in the cap
acity of delivery boy. The morning
he was killed he was in the act of de-
livering groceries at the home of Mrs.
Alfred Pavy, corner Union and Madi-
son streets. The young fellow drove
the delivery wagon on the side of the
residence and started to enter the
gate on the Madison street side of the
home. There was a big wire across
the gate and he grasped the wire to
move it aside, not realizing it was one
of the city's high-voltage wires, and
was knocked senseless, dying in agony
without regaining consciousness.
1t was brought out in the trial that
the death-dealing wire had dropped
from the supporting cross-arm Of a
nearby pole and had been down sew
eral days, despite the fact that the
matter had been called to the atten-
tion Of the light plant employees and
members Of the city administration
The electrocution of young Baque
caused much talk and suppressed ex-
in the city and was the basic
cause of the big public meeting held
one Sunday evening in the courthouse.
Mr.. Aymond, the superintendent OF
the plant, had been accidentally cleo
trocuted short time before, several
children had narrowly escaped a sim
liar fate and then came the horrible
death Of young Baque.
1t was admitted the wiring Of the
city was in a bad way and the only !
remedy was to erect new poles and
string new wires. This work was
taken ND mad has progressed some
what satisfactorily but is not yet COM
plete and the date of its finishing Is
not known. There are other wires
and poles in the city that look some
what "shaky" but may be perfectly
safe.