Evening star., 1925-02-20
ONE KILLED, 4 HURT
WHEN AUT0SWEEPS
LOAD|NGPLATFORM
Machine Travels Full Length
of Safety Zone, Speeds
Away. But Is Caught.
INTOXICATED, DRIVER
SAYS, TAKING BLAME
Thirteen Other Persons Injured in
Traffic Accidents-One Hit-and-
Run Autoist Sought.

Sweeping the full length OF th'
street-car loading platform at Penn
sylvania avenue and Twelfth stree
early today, an automobile driven b.
man declared to ,be intoxicated
moved down five men, standing on 1t
like so many tin soldiers. killing one
and seriously injuring the four others
This traffic tragedy added to the tol
already rolled up during the night Of
Is injured, one of them by another
fleeing driver.
CareeninG his car and stepping or
the gas, according to eyewitnesses
the driver sped from a pursuing po.
liceman and was captured later back
of the National Museum, after shots
had been fired at the tires on his ma
chine.
The dead man is Adgie Bowie. A
years old, of 500 Prince street, Alex
andria, salesman for the General
Baking Co. here.
The prisoner is Walter Edmund
Roderick, SO years old, of 3039 Q
street, a representative at the Capt.
tol for the Chicago Tribune. He is
charged with manslaughter, driving G
car while intoxicated and leaving
making his identity known.
Four Others Injured.
The injured are:
David Edward Jacobs, 80, OF 12
South Pitt street. Alexandria. sales
man for the ce-Schmidt Baking e
Co: cut over the left eye, bruised
and lacerated on the head.
Robert Bender, As, 532, Oronoco
street, Alexandria, salesman for the
General Baking Co; cut on the head,
bruised about the body and badly
sprained.
Carl j. Hoyme, 43. $40 Ninth street
southeast, employed by the National
Capital Press; severe cash on top of
head, body bruised
Ernest Grover, 10, 526 South Patrick
street. Alexandria. bruised on the legs.
All the injured, including Bowie, were
rushed TO Emergency Hospital in po-
lice patrol and taxicabs, Bowie dying
shortly after his arrival from a punc-
tured heart caused by a broken rib. The
others left the hospital after receiving
frst-aid treatment and recovering from
the shock. They were removed in auto
mobiles to their homes, where most Of
them were said to be still suffering
acutely from their injuries.
ITS the same old story-booze and
automobiles" Roderick remarked to a
Star reporter who visited him. with
Capt. Ernest w. Brown. in his cell at
No. ! precinct today.
Il was too drunk to know what was
happening. but | don't doubt that l did
It, And to think l would make things
doubly bad by fleeing from the scene 1
will not shrk the responsibility. 1t was
my fault and mine alone, and l am
ready to pay the price to the law, what
ever that price may be-
Then, turning to the reporter, Rod
erick said Il do not ask you to
spare me at all in your story. You
cannot make it too bad, SO far as I'm
concerned, but please don't drag my
paper and employer into it any more
than you can help"
Sweep. Entire Platform.
According to the story told Capt
Brown of the first precinct by Po-
liceman David McCutcheon, who hap
pened to be standing on the north
cast corner of Eleventh street and
Pennsylvania avenue when the trag-
edy took place. about 2:40 o'clock
this morning. and accounts related
by several of the injured, Roderick's
car bore down on the unsuspecting
victims without warning of any kind.
tossing them to right and left, and
doubling another up under the car
in it's wild plunge from one end of
the 96-foot platform to the other.
The death car was heading east,
and after it had swept the wooden
platform clear of its human encum-
brances it turned suddenly south into
Eleventh street at a high rate of
'utchaOn states.
Wandering d passing automobile,
driven by Thaddeus l. Hopkins of
1908 Quincy street McCutcheon cha ased
the speeding machine in its dash
through Little Is street to Ninth
street and thence south to the road
way south Of the National Museum
McCutcheon fired several shots at
the tires of the fugitive car. but
missed, and finally the machine was
jammed to the curbing near the Mu-
scum building by McCutcheon's driver.
Roderick was badly intoxicated, ac-
cording to Capt. Brown. and he said
he didn't know that he had hit any
body or that there had been any acci-
dent.
Takes Blame Internationally.
AS he sobered up in his cell this
morning, however, the full realization
OF Wnat ne was charged with QdWneQ
upon him and he freely admitted the
charges and accepted the blame un-
conditionally in the presence of the
police.
Il had just gotten into my car at
Fourteenth street and PENNSYLVANIA
avenue, Roderick told Capt. Brown,
after card game and taking too
many drinks with some friends in
the Wyatt Building. They should not
have let me go home in that condi-
ton. but | don't blame them for what
happened. ] got into the car and
thought | was heading toward my
home, in Georgetown. Why l went
east on the Avenue / don't know. /
was too drunk to know. If hadn't
been drunk this thing wouldn't have
happened, of course. don't remem-
ber hitting any one or being chased.
but man under the influence of
liquor has instinct enough to run
when he does anything wrong, I
guess"
Roderick had lived in Washington
since October. He has a wife and a
two-year- old baby boy both of whom.
he said, are visiting in PHILADELPHIA.
He asked permission to telegraph his
wife regarding his arrest.
he is being held for the action of a