The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-05-02
BOY DEAD OF
INJURIES IN
AUTO TRAGEDY
prosper Cecquyt,, ), Of Moline,
Meets Death on Way to Pick
Flowers.


prosper Cocquyt, 5-year-old son
- Mr. and Mrs. Theophiel Cocquyt.
ga Thirty-sixth street, Moline, was
run down and killed by an automo-
nile driven by Mrs. B. III. Ryan, ISL
seventeenth avenue. East Moline,
shout 4 O'Clock yesterday afternoon
The tragedy occurred on Fifth
avenue between Thirty-sixth and
aT.,hirtv-seyenth street. Moline. but a
snort distance from the lads home
prosper was on his way to pick
sowers on the hillside south of the
venue. He had told his mother he
warted to take a bouquet to his
teacher this morning. AS he romp-
al awav munching a sandwich his
mother warned him, as usual, to be
carnfuI of the automobiles. Happy
n the prospect of laying a cluster
~ flowers on the teachers desk IN
the morning, the lad started across
the avenue unseeing. The monk OF
an automobile horn distracted his
thongbts of the morrow. He turned
m see the Ryan machine bearing
DOWN on him. He was bewildered.
he stopped, and realizing that he
could not get out of the way of the
car covered his face with his
hands and crouched low prepared
~ meet the impact The automo-
lille struck the child, despite the
heroic efforts of Mrs. Ryan TO avoid
the tragedy, and he fell to the
pavement unconscious. Gently the
little body was laid on the lawn by
Mrs Margaret Monteyne. a neigh
bor of the Cocquyt's. Mrs. Ryan,
kneeling beside the boy, wept and
prayed forgiveness. d.
DR.. F. H. Gardner, who happened
IN be passing, examined the boy,
and then placed him in his car and
started for the hospital. The ply
sician's car had proceeded but a
short distance when the last spark
of life passed from the child's body.
On a pillow at the side of Mrs.
RYAN. was her 7-months-old baby.
Presence of the infant in the ma
chine is believed to have confused
her.
AT the inquest this morning in
the Danielson & Furgie chapel the
coroner's jury returned a verdict
that death was caused from frac-
ture of the skull and was acci-
dental
Prosper Cocquyt was born at
Adeghem. East Flanders. Belgium,
Nov. /, 1916. and was 5 years and
months old on the day of his
death. The cocquyts left Belgium
July 8. 1920 They resided in Can
ada three months and cana to Mo-
line Sept. 10, 1920. Besides the
parents is a sister, Marcella, aged
8 years. Prosper was a pupil al
the Mckinley school.
The loss of their only son at this
time is a great blow to the parents.
II was only yesterday that the IA
Their went to work at the Moline
iron works after a year OF unem-
ployment. The family has been
pursued by hard luck ever s:nce
coming to Moline. 1t was on Jan
90, 1921. Cocquyt and his family
were on their way to the station
where they were to board the train
for Columbus Junction, Iowa, that
they were held up and robbed OF
their entire savings. The holduI
occurred at 4.30 o'clock in the
morning at Twenty-third street anc
Fifth avenue. Cocquyt had plan
ned and saved for long time il
anticipation of the visit to his
brother at Columbus Junction, ano
the robbery was a severe blow tc
both he and his wife.
Funeral services for the boy will
be held in the home of Charles De
Mortelaere, 1926 Tenth street. Mo-
line, at 1880 o'clock tomorrow
morning and half an hour later ir
Sacred Heart church. Burial will
be in ST. Mary's cemetery, Easi
Moline