The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1922-10-27
|SA W The TRAIN
STRIKE AUTO
Testified Riverton Boy In
$4,000 Suit Over Double
3 Fatality
AUTs RAN ONTO
s THE PLATFORM
Wy ess Couldn't Tell If All
,ur Wheels We're on
Platform

! Gino Canale of Riverton, boy OF
about Is, testified for the defense this
forenoon in the case Of d. p. Lefebvre
vs. Central Vermont Railway company
for $4,000 damages growing out of
the fatal injuries of Mrs. Lefebvre
and daughter, Glenna, in a crossing ac-
cident, which is being tried in Wash
ington county court. The boy Stated
he saw the approaching train at the
Davis Bros stoncshed and the auto !
mobile driven by George Bardis APP
preaching the crossing. The automo-
bile had turned onto the platform and
the train was close to it before he
went inside the station door, which, he
stated took him half a second" to do
Looking through door into the
baggage room and through the bag
gage room window, he saw the train
strike the car. The two right wheels
were taken off, and the. front wheel
rolled down the platform.
Questions designed to bring out
whether the automobile ever went
completely onto the platform were
asked by attorneys for each side. The
boy saw that two wheels were off the
platform, but he did not see them 60
off, He was unable to tell whether
they were ever all on or not He saw
the automobile come onto the station
platform, he said, but lie did not se6
all the wheels come on.
Gino was followed on the stand by
Fred Cameron, another l5-year -old
boy, who was in an ice cream tent
across the tracks from the station at
about the time Of the accident.
Members Of the crew of the train
which struck the automobile testified
yesterday. John w. Newton, engi
neer, who stated that he was running
80 miles an hour, testified he blew for
the crossing and rang the bell. and
that he did not know Of the accident
until after the train stopped, except
that he felt Jolt as the train went
over the crossing. He asked the fire.
man what the matter was, referring
to the jolt, but the fireman said he did
not think it was anything.
Mark Hicks, the fireman, testified
to the same effect. Edward MuldoCn,
conductor, Gordon Jewett, caretaker,
and II. j, Rooney, brakeman, also tes-.
titled to circumstances connected with
the train.
Samuel A. Miller, another brake
man, testified that he heard the train
whistle when the last car, in which he
was riding, was about 10 poles north
of the crossing. He heard the bell at
the same time. Expecting he might
receive some orders at the station, he
opened the side door of the car and
saw the hood Of an automobile, of
which the rear was evidently down. in
front of the train. The rear car was
then opposite the Provost stoneshed,
he said. The distance from the middle
of the Provost shed to the. crossing is
about 1876 feet, and the number of
,ars in the train was IL.
Mr.. Miller went to the rear platform
md pulled the emergency valve, he
The train was already be
ginning to slacken speed when he did
10. The rear car stopped about two
POLES south of the station. He saw
he condition of the automobile as the
rain passed and went back to see If
le could help the injured people. Then
lie went back to the automobile, the
ear end of which was between the
racks and the cinder platform The
rain was in the station from an hour
o an hour and 10 or Is minutes, he
tated. He observed the view for a
rain from the east side of the track
boxing toward the north, and said
G obtained clear view TO the ledge
nd the whistling sign, but could not
tate from just what distance from
be main line.
On cross examination, he was asked
Thy the whistle was sounded and
tated that the rules required IL on
a crossing.
Other witnesses were Mrs. Hazel
lines, who lives near tine tracks, who
vas positive the train whistled, and
-histled near the small ledge where
he whistling post is situated. Robert
avis and Daniel Davis OF Davis Bros,
granite concern, with a plant near the
tation, and Elmer Culver, who runs
derrick for Davis Bros. and helped
reload car of granite which was
anding on a spur track the day Of
he accident.
One of the chief questions OF the
ial seems 20 be visibility Of the track
the north from the highway at the
de track. The plaintiff claims that
lere was fat car and a coal car
,rth Of the highway on the spur
ack The defense has maintained