The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1925-08-06
Coroner's Jury Returns
Verdict of Accidental
Death" Friday.
DIED WHILE ON DUTY
Anthony Pileski Met His Death
in Act of Duty, Inquest
Evidence Shows.

That Anthony Pileski, switchman
for the Chicago and Northwestern
railroad, met his death when he was
crushed between the couplers of two
freight cars on the west yards of
the railroad on the morning of Sat
urday, July %, through no fault of
his own and through no fault of the
railroad company, was the verdict of
a coroner's jury which heard evidence
in the inquest held in the municipal
court on Friday afternoon.
Three witnesses were called to give
testimony in the inquest, and the story
told in the course of the evidence in
dictated that there was absolutely no
negligence on anyone's part in the
tragedy WHICH took the life of the
popular railroad employe.
A Conscientious Worker.
Pileski was always an earnest work
er, according to fellow workmen who
gave testimony at the inquest Friday
afternoon and he was one of the most
trusted employees in the west yards
working with the trains. He was only
a youth of % but in the short years
of his experience with the railroad
here he had become most efficient in
his duties. He was married but had no
children.
1t was while on duty that he met his
death George Peterson, 1865 Grover
street, conductor on one of the trains
working on the farm" in that neigh
borhood off Of Western avenue, testi-
fled that Pileski was in an unusually
happy frame of mind on that fatal Sat-
urday morning and just few min
utes before his death they had chat
ted amiably about their work. Pet
erson told Assistant District Attor-
ney John Kennedy, who conducted the
inquest for the state, that the last
he had seen of the workman was when
he was standing on the top of one of
the freight cars.
E Tried to Shut Freight Door.
H. N. Beck, 374 South Main street,
a conductor for the Chicago and
Northwestern railroad, who was also
working on the scene at the time OF
the accident, told the coroner's jury
that he had last seen Pilesh come
down from the top of the cars and
walk eastward along the tracks. Beck
advanced the suggestion that Pileskl
probably came down to look over the
end of a string of cars which was be-
ing prepared for the road and seeing
an end-door in one of the cars open,
thus allowing a possibility of damage
to the car and railroad property if that
condition should continue, attempted
to close the door when the rear end
of another string of cars backed up
and caught him between the two train
couplers.
DR.. Henry Robinson testified that
he was called to the Kenosha hospital
and arrived there at the same time
as the police ambulance which took
the victim from the scene. AS he
entered the ambulance to examine the
patient the doctor declared he thought
he heard faint gasp, and in court he
said that he thought that that was the
last breath of the injured man. he
was dead. The remains were taken di-
rectly to the morgue. Anthony Pileski
died of an internal hemorrhage and
of shock, in the opinion of the ply
stefan.
After the testimony of these three
witnesses heard Coroner Joseph Friend
ordered the jury to- retire to draw up
its verdict and within two minutes the
verdict of accidental death placing
no blame for the tragedy was handed
in