Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-10-26
DRIVER IS CLEARED
IN FIRE CAR DEATH;
SPEED CURB URGED
Miss Cecilia King Killed Acct
dentaIIy, Jury Holds After
Inquest.
SUGGESTS REGULATIONS
COVERING ALL VEHICLES
Companion of Dead Girl Reported
to Be Still in Critical
Condition.

In generating William Jaeger. driver
of the automobile of Battalion Chief
Andrew H. Wolter, for the death of
Miss Cecilia D. King, % years old,
1857 Good Hope road southeast, a
coroner's jury today recommended that
the District Commissioners draft regu-
latlons governing the speed of fire ap-
paratus, police cars, ambulances and
other emergency apparatus. The jury
returned verdict of accidental death.
The recommendation was that:
''We recommend to the District Com
missioners the following:
I'm order to safeguard the lives of
the public in these congested times, we
earnestly recommend a drastic revision
OF the traffic rules and regulations or
additions thereto, so as to make amen
able hereunder the operation of not
only the vehicles of the Fire Depart
ment, but also of the Police Depart
ment, hospitals and emergency vehicles
OF the street railways and other COM
pan1eS, giving them speed limit and
regulating their operation in general"
Miss King died Wednesday as a re-
suit of injuries received on Tuesday.
when she and Mrs. Margaret A. Con-
nick, "a years old, 1857 Good Hope
road southeast, were struck by the
chiefs car as it swung to the left of a
street car from which they had lust
allghted at the entrance of the Potomac
Electric Power Co., Fourteenth and q
streets. Mrs. Connick is still in a crit
ical condition in Emergency Hospital.
DeliberatiOn Brief.
The testimony before the coroner's
jury has taken the greater part of two
days, but the verdict and recommended
ton were made after but few minutes
OF deliberation by the jury.
Jaeger was the last witness to take
the stand. Visibly unnerved, he almost
pleaded with the jury while telling them
OF the circumstances surrounding the
accident.
He said he left the fire engine house
on Twelfth street behind the rescue
squad, but passed it en- route and WAS
leaulng when they reached Pennsyl-
varia avenue and Fourteenth Street
AT that point he came to almost a COM
piete stop because of motorist who
nad stalled in the middle of the street.
AFTER passing this car he proceeded
down Fourteenth street and was but
$50 feet behind the street car before
ne observed that the passage to the
right OF the car was blocked. At that
Time. he said, he was travelling at be-
tween 80 and IS miles an hour, but
slowed down to pass the street car.
because he knew he could not pass IT,
at that rate of speed due to the in
stability of the balloon tires with which
the machine is equipped.
he did not see either of the young
women until they appeared directly in
front of his machine, he said, 1t was
then too late to stop.
Following the crash he reported "out
OF service" and then went back and
moved his machine. Due to this last
act ne declared, all of the witnesses
stated ne mad travelled $50 feet before
ne could bring his machine to a ston
the siren was blowing continuously. he
said. A-o
Preceding Jaeger to the stand was
James M. Clifton of Riverdale, Md. He
was standing on the sidewalk at the
tlme the fire chiefs car was ap-
preaching, he testified, and OBJ
served the doors of the street car omen
Wnlie the speeding automobile was APP
proachlng. He remarked excitedIy to a
companion: "He is going to open the
door, He, too testified that the siren
on the tlre apparatus was blowing dur
ing the entire time. Practically the
same testimony was given by Charles L,
OSBORN, an employe of Hill & Tibbits. at
the corner of Fourteenth street and
Ohio avenue
Feared Collapse of Building.
The second day of the inquest into
the death of Miss King got under wav
this morning with approximately 20
witnesses yet to be heard.
AS was the case yesterday, there were
SO many witnesses and spectators that
Coroner j. Ramsey hewitt had to issue
orders that only persons for whom there
were chairs be admitted to the room
Where the inquest is being held. There
nave been SO many persons desiring en-
trance that DR.. hewitt feared the build
ing. an old frame affair on the water
front, might collapse
The building, he explained, was so
unsafe even as long as two years ago,
that the inquest into the death of
Detective Arthur B. Scrivener was held
In the boardroom of the District Build
ing. There were almost as MANY
persons attempting to attend the in
quest into the death of Miss King as
there were at the Scrivener hearing. A
sum of $4,000 has been appropriated for
the repair of the building, but the work
has not yet been started.
MOtorman Testifies.
Testifying today at the inquest, Jo-
seph II. Henage, 440 Warner street, the
motorman of the car from which Miss
King and Mrs. Connick alighted, stated
he heard the sirens of the engines that
preceded the chiefs car, but did not
hear the approach of the latter. He
looked in the mirror with which he can
see traffic approaching from the rear, he
said, and the only automobiles he saw
were those afterward shown to have
blocked the passage of the fire car to
the right of the street car
When questioned as to the speed of
the fire department car he said that it
appeared to him to have been going at
least so miles an hour. He admitted un-
der cross oss-examination however, that he
did not drive an automobile and had no
recollection of ever having travelled so
miles an hour in any kind of vehicle.
There is no regulation requiring the
doors OF street cars to be kept closed
during the passage of fire apparatus, he
declared, but he has always made it a
practice to keep them closed. I'M
mediately following the crash he again
closed the door and did not permit the
exit Of any more passengers until after
the arrival of assistance for the injured
girls.
In an attempt to prove that he had
been especially careful, he stated that
he stopped at B street when he heard
the engines approaching from that di-
reet1on and waved them across. He