The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-03-12
PLACE NO BLAME
IN AUTO TRAGEDY
,Coroner's Jury Exonerates
Russell Wade and E. ].
Sullivan from Blame.
In AUTO-TRUCK CRASH
Hear Testimony on Accident
Which Resulted in Death
of Elizabeth Sullivan.

Neither Russell Wade, driver of a
truck which was parked on the Lake
Shore road at ten o'clock Tuesday
evening, March 8, nor Edward ]. Sui
livan, driver of a Studebaker sedan
which crashed into the parked car in
juring several occupants and result
ing in the death of Elizabeth, eleven
year-old daughter Of e. J. Sullivan,
were blamed for any part of the acct
dent by coroner's jury called to hear
the evidence in the case on Saturday
afternoon in the municipal courtroom.
Both were exonerated from any re-
sponsibility for the accident by the
verdict of the jury which was reach
ed within five minutes after the last
witness had been heard.
Only six witnesses were heard at
the inquest and conflicting testimony
in several instances made it difficult
matter for the jury to reach its de-
cision and it was their belief that
the verdict returned was the fairest
one in view of the testimony taken.
Argue About TaiI-Light.
The center of the evidence seemed
to hinge about the tail-light on the
trailer of the truck. Russell Wade.
driver of the truck, insisted on the
stand that the light, was lit, while
Edward Sullivan, father of the dead
girl and driver of the other car in the
crash declared that there was no
visible light of any kind on the trail-
er or the truck.
Wade told the jury how he had been
driving to Kenosha from Milwaukee on
the Lake Shore road about ten o'clock
of last Tuesday evening with a large
truck and trailer attached owned by
George Wade, his father About a
mile south of the Kenosha county
line Wade discovered that. the truck
had run out of gas, he said, and he
stopped the truck on the side Of the
road while he entered a farm house
nearby to call Kenosha and have some
gasoline sent out to him.
Heard Crash of Cars.
AS he left the farmhouse Wade told
how he suddenly heard the crash of
the Sullivan car into the truck.
Much of the testimony at this time
concerned the tail-light of the truck.
Wade told how he had taken the light
off of the rear of the truck and fast
ened it with wire on the rear of the
trailer. He was positive in his knowl-
eye that the light was lit every minute
from the time that he had left Mil
waukee. He had made several stops
to make sure that this light was still
lit, he said. Sheriff Frank Willems and
Turnkey Ray Willems, who arrived at
the scene few minutes after the ac-
cident occurred, told of finding this
light knocked off of the wire and lying
on the ground between the front
wheels of the trailer and the rear
wheels of the truck. Ray Willems
told the jury that the lamp was ''cold."
Edward Sullivan was called to the
stand to tell what he knew of the &C
cident He described his leaving RAJ
cine after a friendly visit to a relative
there. In his car were Mrs. Sullivan,
Elizabeth May Sullivan, Kathleen Sui
Ivan and two girl chums, Sarah Reed
and Catherine Mungen. They were
returning home to Kenosha and driv-
ing at rate of speed mot to exceed
twenty-five or thirty miles an hour"
according to Mr.. Sullivan when as
they approached the Kenosha county
line they noticed several other vehi-
cles> coming from the opposite direc-
ton.
Suddenly as though it were stone
wall about ten feet ahead of US loom
ed this big truck or moving van or
whatever it was. l swerved over to the
left but we were caught. l ducked my
head and so escaped being hit by the
flying glass. The top was ripped off
got out and said to a man who was
approaching me, My boy, you should
have had your lights on, but he said
he wasn't the driver of the car and
he wanted to help pick up the in
jured."
Body Thrown On Tracks.
Mrs. Sullivan suffered from several
severe cuts from flying glass and from
shock incident to the accident, and
the three other little girls were also
injured the witness said. The little
Reed girl was unconscious for an
hour after the accident These have
since recovered
The witness told of walking over to
the tracks on the east side of the road
and finding his little daughter Eliza
beth there Tim, his BOSTON bulldog,
was standing watch and refused to al
low anyone to come near the girl I'M
til Mr.. Sullivan called him back. Sew
eral persons picked the little girl up,
and hailing a southbound interhurban
car which happened along at the time,
ali were rushed to st. Catherine's
hospital, the coroner's jury was told
There Drs o. w. McClusky and
J. Fl. Cleary were called to attend the
injured. At the hospital, the witness
said, he was told that his daughter
Elizabeth was dead. The physicians
later testified that she had died of in
juries and shock due to these injuries
but had suffered no broken bones in
the accident.
Tail-Light Is Exhibit.
"And l am positivs." Mr.. Sullivan
added, that there was no Light visible
from the rear Of that truck or trailer.
/ don't want 70 plaza any hlarle on
the boy who drove the truck if no
blame belongs there ard { myself
don't want to take the blame for the
death of my own child"
The light in question, which had
been taken off of the rear of the truck
and tied with wire on the rear Of the
trailer, was placed before the court
as an exhibit in the inquest.
Ninety minutes after testimony in
the inquest was begun the jury