Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1924-02-08
HARRY REED KILLED
WHEN AUTO HITS TRAIN
Lincoln Timberman Instantly Killed
Last Saturday Afternoon While
On Way Home.
The JURY SAYS ACCIDENT
COrOner's Inquest On Sunday Dis
closed Fact That He Had Driven
His Car Into Locomotive.

]. Harry Reed, aged 55 years, a
Well-knOWn timberman residing about
a mile south of Lincoln, was instantly
killed last Saturday afternoon when
he drove his Chevrolet touring car in
to the locomotive of a northbOund
passenger train. The accident occur
red about five o'clock at Southard's
crossing in Lincoln, at a point where
the view from an approaching auto
mobile is clear for a distance of over
mile. At that hour of the day the
sun is very low and is shining direct
ly into the face of a person driving in
a westerly direction. 1t is possible
that Mr.. Reed was blinded by the
glare of the suns rays and could not
see the train as it neared the cross
ing. While the brakes are badly dam
aged, the remaining portion of the
emergency brake levers give evidence
of having been pulled hard, however,
as if he had made an attempt to avoid
hitting the train when he did see it.
Following the accident the body of
the dead man was taken to the under
taking establishment of E. Green Reed
at Lincoln. A cOrOner's inquest was
held on Sunday and a verdict render
ed to the effect that death was acct
dental and was caused by Mr.. Reed
having driven his automobile into the
train.
Harry Reed had been in Milford in
the afternoon. While here he had been
negotiating with owners of timber
land located in Milford Neck, near one |
of his saw mills, for the sale of the |
timber on the land. After leaving Mil
ford he went to a barber shop in Lin |
coin where he was shaved. He was on |
his way home from that place when |
the accident occurred. Witnesses who |
saw the accident testified at the in
quest that he was driving at moder-
ate rate of speed, and that his auto
mobile struck the front of the locOmo-
tive. The engineer on the train also
says that he drove against the loco
motive at the right front side. An eye
witness said that when the car struck
the locomotive it was pushed back
away from the train. The impact with
the locomotive did not smash the au-
tomobile; but when it sWerved the
baggage car caught it and it was fore
ed into the ditch along the railroad
right of way. The vehicle was COM
pletely wrecked. A man working with t
a sledge hammer and cutting tools J
could not have bursted it up so COM
pletely as did the impact with the :
train. The first persons to arrive on t
the scene of the accident found Mr..
Reeds body laying just outside the s
Wreckage of the car. He was dead
when they picked him up. Notwith- Q
standing the fact that the automobile S
was smashed to splinters, there were t
very few marks on the body. Wrecked C
parts of the automobile and large C
casting from one of the steps on the
locomotive were found several yards
North of where the accident occurred.
One of the wheels of the automobile
vas found about 200 feet from the
scene of the accident. Hundreds of N
persons went to the scene of the trag- s.
,dy on Sunday and viewed the wreck Il
# the automobile. a
Mr.. Reed was a member of the Sus- II
ex County Levy Court several years ri
go when the old levy court system N
vas in force in the county. He was a
republican and took an active inter-
st in party affairs. He is survived by
lis widow and one daughter, Mrs.
Beideman, of Lincoln. A,
'uneral services were held on We'd ~ ~
esday. n