Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-08-14
WOMAN IS BLAMED
FOR DEATH OF TWO
| N BERWYN CRASH
|. c. C. Bureau of Safety Ex-
onerateS Train Crew in
Crossing Tragedy
ALERTNESS OF DRIVER
QUESTIONED IN REPORT
Miss Thomas Testimony Is Found
to Differ From That of
Witnesses.

i
two Baltimore & Ohio enginemen,
July 81. when the flyer Columbian
ploughed into a stalled automobile, to-
| day was placed on the driver of the car
Miss Ethel Thomas of st. Anne's
| Orphanage, in a report by the Bureau
of Safety of the Interstate Commerce
Commission.
A coroner's jury had held the
railroad responsible for the accident in
which j. A. Ward, engineer, and L. r.
| Walters, fireman, who had just been
promoted to engineer, were killed.
Motor Sailing Blamed.
The report said: This accident was
| caused by an automobile being brought
to a stop on highway grade crossing
and the motor being stalled when a
| train was approaching, for which the
! driver Of the automobile, Miss Ethel
| Thomas, is responsible
The report also brought out for the
| first time that the train was brought
to stop by c. B. Owens, an engineer,
who was riding in the baggage car. and
who boarded the engine and fought his
way through the flames in the cab,
after Ward and Walters had jumped
| to escape fire which had been started
| by blazing gasoline from the tank of
the automobile.
Fireman Knocked Down.
walters and Ward lost their lives
/ in jumping and the report said that
badly burned, likewise would have
leaped from the cab had he not been
| knocked down accidentally in the rush
Of the others from the flaming cab.
In taking up the circumstances of
the accident, the report points out that
| there are discrepancies in testimony
between the witnesses and Miss Thomas.
| Miss Thomas said in substance that
| she was proceeding at a speed Of 20
miles per hour or less and that after
| passing the first track of the three
/ track crossing and when on or nearly
on the eaStbound track (Which was
| the track nearest herr she heard the
crossing bells begin to ring and then
| the north gate dropped u front of her,
causing her to stop her automobile so
suddenly that the motor stalled" the
i report said.
AIertness Is Questioned.
"She said she did not see the gates
when they actually started to come
down, and also stated that the north
!! gate was entirely down when she
| stopped It is difficult to account for
the action of the automobile driver In
this case, unless she was not as fully on
| the alert as she should have been when
| approaching grade crossing Her
statement indicates that her first warn
| ing was when she saw the north gate
down in front Of her, and she had no
recollection of seeing it descending as
she approached or started over the
| crossing. The north gate requires about
six seconds to come down from the
vertical to the horizontal position, while
the south gate requires seven seconds.
AS an automobile travelling at speed
Of 20 miles per hour would cover
slightly more than % feet per second
during the six-second interval required
to lower the north gate, the automobile
would have travelled a distance of more
than ITO feet Allowing for the time
lost in making the sudden stop and
also for the one seconds slower oper-
alton of the south gate (which was the
first Miss Thomas approached, 1t still
would appear that the automobile would
have been 100 feet or more from the
westbound track where her car was
struck and approximately so feet from
the first Of the three tracks when the
gate actually started TO descend.
Deduction Held Consistent.
This deduction is consistent with
the statement Of Agent Lorentz and the
witness, E. G. YoSt, to the ef-
ect that the gates had started
to move before the automobile reached
the crossing and that the automobile
passed under the south gate as it was
on its way down. There is a conflict,
however, between the drivers estimate
Ct her speed and those made by some of
the other witnesses. and between her
statement as TO when the bells began
to ring and statements made by other
witnesses on this point, in addition to
the conflict in the statements made as
to the position Of the gate Immediately
preceding the stopping CT the automo-
bile, but in view of the time interval
required to operate the gate, there
seems little doubt but that the automo-
bile had not reached the crossing when
the gates started to move, and had the
driver exercised the caution which
every driver should exercise on ap-
preaching a grade crossing, she would
have been able to stop short Of the
track.
Train Has Right Of Way.
AT a grade crossing, not only does
railroad trafic have right of way. but
a train is not under the same degree of
control as an automobile, as is evil
oenced in this case where the train in
polved required more than 5000 feet
within which to stop.
The trafflc density on this highway
is not heavy, the view is fairly good
when approaching from the south on
the highway, and the warning devices
provided were working properly and
should have been ample to prevent the
occurrence OF an accident of this char
acteT and apparently the only element
lacking was the failure of the driver to
have a proper realization OF the abso-
lute necessity, not only OF materially
reducing speed. but OF paying very close
in use and Of being prepared to stop at
any instant
Safety at protected grade crossings
requires that automobile drivers must
observe and heed the warnings Of cross
ting signal devices. Even after stopping
on the crossing, and Sailing. and being
unable to start the motor this accident
might have been prevented had Miss
Thomas put the car in gear, stepped ON
the starter switch and used the starter
motor TO move the car on the crossing.
Engine Grew on Alert.
The report points out that the engine
crew only saw the stalled car when
about $50 feet away from the cross
ing, and that Ward applied his brakes
when about 500 feet away. It adds:
This is suf5cielt evidence that the
members OF the engine crew we're on the
alert
The report says also that so far as
Agent LoTentz Is eoncerned. when he
LEFT his once he sould have taken his
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