Evening star., 1935-03-05
T0MPK|NS BOUND
TO GRAND JURY AT
ACCIDENT INQUEST
"Eyewitness" Accounts of
Storey Crash Give Con-
f|icting Versions.
WHERE WOMAN STOOD
is MAIN CONTROVERSY
Jury Told Car Previously Ran
Over Sidewalk in Route
to Platform.

xIdllClo M. 4OiiiphAiio, 6fb "oo @AoA~
for action of .he grand jury this aft
ernoon after coroner's inquest into
the death Of Mrs. Ruth Storey, 80.
Mrs. Storey was killed early Saturday
morning when a car Tompkins was
driving struck a street car loading
platform at Fourteenth street and
Pennsylvania avenue.
Tompkins, driving the automobile
Of Mrs. Olga Bayne Sturtevant of
Oxon Hill. Md, was returning after
having taken Mrs. Sturtevant home
from a night club when the accident
occurred. Mrs. Storey who sustained
two broken legs and a fractured arm,
died in Emergency Hospital II hours
later.
Conflicting testimony developed to-
day at the inquiry.
The principal disagreement centered
around where Mrs. Storey was stand
ing when she was hit, and who was
the first person to reach her side
Eyewitness Describes Crash.
Louis E. Hodge, 2l25 H street. cir
culation manager of the Washington
Post, said on the stand that he was
in front of an e street restaurant
across the street when Mrs. Storey
walked out of the restaurant. crossed
the street and stepped on the plat
form.
AN instant later the car came into
my line of vision and struck the
woman" he said.
Hodge stated he was the first man
to reach Mrs. Storey and that she
was lying half on and half off the
platform. He said he turned her over
on her back and she was not moved
further until the ambulance arrived.
Another man who claimed to have
been an eyewitness testified on the
contrary that he watched Mrs. Storey
walk toward the platform and that
she stepped on it and then off again
Just before the car smashed into her.
Hodge Story Denied.
The witness was r. Hale Cooper
Of l55 Z street southeast, cab
driver. He said he was the first per-
son to reach Mrs Storey after she
fell, and that he carried her to the
platform, quite some distance away"
Cooper asserted that he would know
Hodge on sight, and that the news
paper employe was not the man who
helped him lift the injured woman.
Cooper said Mrs Storey was only
knocked about IS or 20 feet by the
impact Of the automobile. Detective
william J. Liverman of the homicide
squad. who had testified he found a
pool of blood about 70 feet from the
east end of the platform, said he was
told the woman had been hurled to
that spot when the car struck her.
Louis R. Bell, 1903 Columbia road,
and James T. Thompson of 1108 South
Carolina avenue southeast testified
they saw Mrs. Sturdevant's coupe run i
over a sidewalk in the Capitol Plaza
a short while before the time of the
accident Bell said the car turned
into the plaza at terrific speed"
Noticed Tag Number.
He said he noticed the first three
figures of the Maryland tag number
as "3oe." These correspond to the first
digitS on the Sturtevant car. After he
had heard of the accident. Bell made
positive Identification of the machine |
at No. police precint.
John I. Weeks. 2841 Akron place |
southeast. also stated he had seen the |
Sturtevant car at Constitution and |
Pennsylvania avenues about seven !
blocks from the scene Of the accident |
and had remarked at the time 1T was i
going mighty fast"
Tompkins was accompanied to the |
inquest today by his mother, Mrs. !
Charles H. Tompkins. His father was |
not present, but the youthful de-
fendant was represented by his uncle |
and Attorney James Sherier. The |
young man sat through most of the |
testimony with one hand over his |
eyes, while the other clasped the hand !
of his mother.
1t is the youths contention that he !
swerved and struck the street car !,
platform deliberately to avoid striking :,
Mrs. Storey, who. Ne said, stepped |
from the stand and started back across
the street in the opposite direction |
from the District Building, where she i
was employed as a charwoman.
Robert Storey, husband of the de- |
ceased. was represented at the hearing |
by former United States District At !
torney Leo Rover.
Brake Marks Held Seen.
In summing up the investigation |
he conducted for the Police Depart
ment, Sergt. Liverman said he found \
that marks on the street showed Tomp-
kinS applied the automobile brakes |
II feet east Of the platform, skidded |
along with his left wheels on the plat
form for "a feet, slipped of again and |
continued for another 20 feet before
the machine stopped facing in the |
opposite direction. The force OF the
blow broke both Of Mrs. Storey's legs
and fractured her left arm.
Lverman said Tompkins made a
statement to him in which he said he !
had been to the Heigh-Ho Club Fri
day night with q party Of friends.
They left there after 3 o'clock when !
the place had closed, he said.
"Tompkins at first told me that |
Mrs. Sturdevant drove the car to
Oxon Hill. Later he said he drove the |
car" Lverman said.
-e~'