The Waterbury Democrat., 1939-07-20
Coroner Exonerates
 Driver In Fatality
Finds No Evidence of Criminal Negligence in Tragic
 Death of John Leonard, World War Veteran

his body extending more or less obliquely and crosswise Of the roadway, the head being about nine feet from the sasterly curb.
 Conditions Described
 Phoenix avenue, ct said point is 22 feet wide from curb to curb. At said time there were cars parked at the westerly curb oppos- ite to where deceased lay, as afore. said, and in such position that there was space in said roadway barely equal to the width of Q car between deceased's head and the parked car which was approxi- mately opposite deceaseds head and which was parked at the westerly curb, as aforesaid.
 At said time, William Wilcox. entered the 1935 Terraplane coach automobile, which was registered in the name of his wife, Victoria Wilcox. on Savings street. about 800 feet east of the intersection of Phoenix avenue herewith, and proceeded westerly down Savings street, turned left into Phoenix avenue and continued along Phoe- nix avenue in Southerly direc- ton towards where deceased lay as aforesaid, 103 feet south of Savings street. The locality is well lighted just beyond where de- ceased lay, there being a well- lighted gasoline station adjoining the said Armory building at the south, on Phoenix avenue, and Q street light 89 feet south of where deceased ley. However, at the place where deceased lay, about opposite the southerly corner of the Armory building as aforesaid, 1t was relatively dark.
 Visibility Poor
 Deceased was dressed in cloth- ing of dark material and the road- way of Phoenix avenue was dark surfaced and wet due to rain. It had stopped raining but visibility was poor and Wilcox had the windshield wipers in operation.
 Wilcox approached to where the deceased lay, at about 20 miles per hour and had said car in second gear to warm the motor before proceeding to his home on Wolcott road, in Wolcott. He did not see the deceased and the left front and rear wheels passed over deceased's body. He did not then know that 1t was Q person he had run over but the bump or bumps he felt were sufficiently strange to cause him to become alarmed and to stop his car. AS he brought his car to stop he heard someone shout to him that he had run over a ran and it was not until then that he be- came aware of what had hap- pened.
 Deceased was removed at once unconscious to St. Mary's hospital, Waterbury, and died at said hos- pital without regaining conscious- ness at 11:50 p. rn., April 6, 1889.
 Licensed Operator
 Wilcox was a duly licensed mo- tor vehicle operator and was pro- ceeding at a reasonable rate of speed in second gear, es afore- said. There was, however, only one headlight lighted on the Will COX car, and although the fog lights were also lighted and 1t Is Wilcox's contention that the one headlight which was turned on bright threw . sufficinet light for ordinary purposes, 1t is probable that the lack of light of head light was a contributory factor in some degrees in producing this fatality. and an act of careless ness on the part of Wilcox to op- crate said car under those condi- tions. To determine the criminal aspect of responsibility for this oc- currence it is necessary to deter mine to what extent that careless ness existed and whether 1t amounted to the gross and crim- inal negligence which the law contemplates in fixing criminal re- sponsibility in such cases. In this connection inquiry and the evi- dence discloses that Wilcox had been without the headlight for period of about a week during which time he operated the car to and from his employment In Waterbury in the daytime only and that he had been having trouble getting the light fixed. and having tried in Waterbury to replace the broken headlight lens without success. he sent to New York for one but had not received 1t when the accident hap pened. The night in question was the first that he had driv- en the car after dark with the headlight missing, and on said night he came in from his home and went to the theater. parking the car at the northerly curb on Savings street, returning to 1t afterwards and proceeding to the place of the accident.
 Cause of Death
 While I am unable to find that the fog lights compensated entire ly for the missing headlight, I cannot find that Wilcox's acts as above mentioned amounted to neg ligence of a gross and criminal na- ture.
 I find that the death of said John Leonard was caused by a crushed chest. but that said death was not due to the criminal negligence of the operator of the car, the said William Wilcox.