, 1922-02-22
OVERTURNED TRUCK
KILLS CHAS. WILCOX
Goes Over Steep Bank at Dry
Creek on Meeteetse Road
Found by Mail Carrier

Charles w. Wilcox, a driver for the
Ohio Oil Company, drove his truck in
to Cody on Monday evening for a load
of supplies. He put his car in the
Cody Garage as has been his custom
on previous visits to Cody, and about
eight o'clock rolled out his bed and
went to sleep.
Yesterday morning, he arose at
seven thirty, drove to the station
where he took on a load of six ten
inch castings and returned to the gar
age to have his truck looked over.
In the meantime he attended toer-
rands around town and paid a visit
to the Enterprise Office. Last night,
less than eight hours after we had
seen him about town, Charles Wilcox
lay dead in the Coroner's Office with
a fractured skull, upper and lower
jaws broken and a six inch cash in
the rear of his head-the result OF
overturning in his truck on a twenty
five foot embankment at Dry Creek
about d quarter of a mile south of the
old half way cabin on the Meeteetse
road.
AS he was about to set out yester-
day morning, Henry G%oodreau, who
had been looking over the truck told
Wilcox that he ought to have his
brakes repaired, there being a bolt
missing in one brake, but, on learn
acquire the bolt, the driver for the
Ohio Oil company replied that he
guessed one brake would be enough
and that he didn't like to have much
work done outside the Company's
machine shop anyway.
He climbed into the cab OF his
truck, waved good bye, and in reply
to George Galatians question. when
will we see you again, Charlie?'
l~aughingly said "Oh l don't know whe-
Their l viii ever get back or not" and
stepping on the gas, was of down the
road. Charles Wilcox was never seen
alive again in Cody.
At about eleven o'clock inthe morn
ing, several travellers on the Meeteet-
Z Sc road reported having passed Will
o who leaned out of his cab and
waved a greeting. At about eleven
thirty, r. N. Wilson, driving the Nee
teetse Stage was attracted by the
tracks of a truck which while climb
ing a hill had evidently turned off the
road and proceeded in perfectly
straight lines for a distance of about
a hundred feet to the top of a steep
bank. 'Wilsonsgo out n in walking
over to the bank discovered the truck
lying on it's side at the bottom after
having turned over several times in
its fall. The truck was in second
gear. The driver being pinned I'M
der the truck in the cab. Wilson was
unable to extract him so wen for
help and jacks to the Webster ranch
about eight miles distance. where he
also telephoned for the coroner.
While hurrying for help, Wilson en-
countered w. w. Purdy of Meetsetse
enroute for Cody, who upon learning
of the accident hastened to the spot
to find that the cargo on the truck
had shifted. turning the car half way
over and that Wilcox was no longer
held in by anything but the seat
boards and cushions. With the help
of a Mrs. Hicks who accompanied
him, Purdy succeeded in taking the
injured man from the wrecked cab
and fixing him comfortably in the bed
which he found in the truck. Purdy
said thai he believed at this time Will
cox was still living. His pulse vas
warm, but he couldn't exactly tell
whether it was beating or not. He
and Mrs. Hicks were making him as
comfortable as possible when Coroner
]. H. Vogel arrived and took charge
after pronouncing him dead.
The verdict of the jury at the
public inquest at the Coroner's office
on Tuesday afternoon, was that Char
less w. Wilcox came to his death by
the overturning Of his truck. but the
direct cause was unknown. The jury
consisted of Chas. Stump, William
M. Rankin. and ]. D. Buchanan.
The sudden death of Wilcox is at
tracing considerable attention be-
cause of the fact hat he was one of
the inmates of the Grass Creek bunk
house at the time of its being blown
up by Bert Lampitt.
Wilcox who was in an end room.
awakened to find the place in flames
and there was no apparent way out
without running through the fire. He
did this, and claimed hat he remem
bered nothing from that point on,
but individuals present said he acted
strangely once outside and tried sew.
eral times to rush back into the fam
ing building. He was quite seriously
burned and remained in the Thermo-
polls Hospital for about a month.
1t is said that Wilcox was very bit
ter towards Lampitt and had made
threats several times that he would