Smyrna times., 1923-05-30
AUTO HITS MOVING TRAIN At
MILFORD; z KILLED, | INJURED
REV. FATHER COMISKY, PASTOR
OF HOLY CROSS CHURCH, DOVER
Also Miss PriciIla Sharrard, His
House Keeper.-Miss Burnadette
COnnOr, Dover, in Milford Hospital

House Keeper-Miss Burnadette
COnnOr, Dover, in Milford Hospital
Rev. James c. Comisky, pastor of
Holy Cross R. C. Church, in Dover,
and Miss Priscilla Sharrard, house
keeper at Dover, rectOry, were in
stantly killed Saturday morning at II
o'clock when the Delaware road train
due at Milford at that time and the
in which they were riding
colided at the intersection of the
boulevard and the railroad tracks near
Haven Lake. Miss Bulnadette Con-
nor, of Dover, the driver of the ma
chine, is now in the Milford General .
Hospital, suffering from serious in
juries. The automobile was proceed
ing slowly toward the south as it ap-
preached the crossing at the same
time the train was approaching the /
station. Miss COnnor it seems threw
in the wrong gear to a new car she |
was driving and instead of stopping
the car, put on speed, causing the |
Ford Sedan to crash into the train. |
Until two weeks ago, it is said, Miss |
Conner had been driving a Studebak-
er automobile in which, when the
clutch is pushed all the way down, the
engine is thrown out of gear. On
Saturday she was driving a Ford Sc
dan in which the pushing of the clutch
all the way down throws the engine
into low gear and makes it pull. 1t
IL
Miss Conner realized she was getting
dangerously close to the passing train
she reached for the clutch to throw
the engine out, forgot that forcing it
all the way down on the make she
was driving threw the engine into low
gear, instead of throwing it out of
gear as in the model she had been ac-
customed to driving and that this
caused the machine to run into the
side of the train before she could re-
verse her action and apply the brakes.
The two iron doors on the side of the
passenger coach enclosing the COM
partment containing the lighting sys-
! tenn of the car were torn off by the
I force of the impact. They were To-
Gated under the car.
Miss COnner's Injuries Are Serious
Miss Conner is said by her friends
to be a careful driver. She was fond
of taking her friends out riding with
her. She made her home with her
uncle, John Collins, on Reed street in
Dover. A thorough examination has
disclosed the fact that she is suffer-
ing from deep decorations of the
scalp, although it has not been fully
determined whether her skull is frac-
tured. She is also suffering from
deep gashes in the flesh of the arm
and face. Her right ankle is broken
and her left leg is badly sprained and
twisted. 1t had been previously re-
ported that one of her legs had been
cut off but this is incorrect. Her en-
tire body is a mass of abrasions anC
bruises and she is thought to have
been hurt internally. Her condition
is such that the physicians have re-
, fused to permit her to be moved ever
for the taking of an X-ray picture t
: determine the full extent of her in
, juries. Miss Conner has been con
2 sciOus only at times since the acci
, dent.
Father COmisky a Popular Priest
Father COmisky was a native o
Ireland and his only known relativ
: in this country was a sister in Ney
; York. He had been in the priesthoo
:, for a long time and within a fey
= months was going to celebrate tn
twenty-fifth anniversary of his Ordi
nation. He had planned to have onl
: a quiet observance of this occasion
He was about so years old. Fathe
i COmisky had at one time been sta
y toned in Centreville, Md. He wa
! then transferred to EastOn, Md, an
= from there he was transferred to S
"a Pauls r. c. Church, in Wilmington
- where he remained as one of the as
sistant pastors for about 8 years.
= the time, about Ia years ago, Re
= Thomas F. WaldrOn, present paste
: of st. Paul's Church, in Wilmingto
: was transferred from Holy Cros
Church in Dover to his Wilmingto
parish, Father Comisky was sent frol
st. PauPs to succeed Father WaldrC
in Dover and had remained at Hol
f Cross Church ever since. His suddt
death was a severe shock to his paris
Of and his many friends. Funeral wi
take place this Wednesday, NOR
ing; interment in Holy Cross Gem
e terry.
r Miss Sharrard Well Known in Smyrl
d. Miss Sharrard who was house-kee
n er for Father COmisky was We
ur known in Smyrna. She was a train,
a nurse and not only served a numb
ell of families in this town and vicinit
ue but for several months nursed MI
ID J. f. HOffecker where she was W,
lg. liked and held in high esteem. H
OF bodxy x1yoc ro,,oOvod fo tho hOpoa Of