The coastland times., 1956-11-16
DEATH OF SAILOR
AT HATTERAS OF
PASSING MOMENT
No Responsibility Attaches To
Anyone Following Alleged
Highway Racing.

count for much, as one may note
the many fatal instances involved
on the states highways and the
little attention that is given them.
On October 10th, Eliphus Florence
Paris, %, of Spartanburg, S. c.
was injured in a car mishap some
two miles southwest of the village
of Cape Hatteras. Seven days lat
er, he died of his injuries.
Tuesday this week, in recorders
court in Manteo, Joseph Guy Dan
ma, %, of Baltimore, Md. was ac-
quilted of charges of racing and
reckless driving on the narrow,
black-top road at Cape Hatteras
which constitutes one of the worst
menaces in the coastland, because
of lack of policing. In 80 days,
the evidence of the race and reck-
lessness has petered out. There was
nothing to satisfy Judge Baum as
to who might have contributed to
the death of this young man.
About nine pm. on the date of
the mishap, Shank Austin of Hat
teras was headed toward Buxton,
and met the two cars, going at high
speed, which appeared after he had
gone by, from their tail lights in
his mirror to be side and side OF
passing. The drivers were two men,
it developed later, of the Seabee
crew engaged in building a Navy
facility at Cape Hatteras. Danna
was driving a 1949 Pontiac, and
Paris 1850 Olds.
Ahead of them on the road were
Melvin Lewis Bragg and David Lee
Glotfilty of the Navy detachment
at Cape Hatteras, and they had
to slow up in order to safely pass a
parked asphalt trailer left marked
with lights by highway forces.
Paris then, too close behind, no
doubt contributed to his own death
by travelling at high rate Of
speed and unable to slow up suf-
ficently in time, was rammed from
behind by Danna, whose car close
ly followed.
The two Navy seamen gave no
helpful testimony in court, nor did
any other witness, although the
day following the accident there
were plenty of people who seemed
to know that racing was going on
on this unsafe road. The tendency
in 80 days is to excuse the death
of a person on the ground he is
already dead, and it would do no
good to prosecute or punish some
one else.
Patrolman Arthur Fields of
Manteo was called to the scene
next day, and but for this, there
would probably have been little mo-
tice of the case.
Many accidents have happened
on this road, some serious, some
fatal. 1t has been fortunate indeed
there have been so few. One Won
ders what would happen should
some inept driver, with car load
ed with children, meet two of these
racing cars driving side and side
at terrific speed.
Hatteras Island is in need of law
enforcement. Many citizens must be
taught by strong measures they
must stop their children of ten
years old and up from driving on
the highways. Many of the young
and reckless bucks need drastic ex-
amples to stop the horrible disre-
gard for life and property that is
shown by racing on this narrow
road. Citizens in general must rea-
lie that all people must suffer
too, in loss of business from visit
ors who won't come to visit places
and spend money where roads are
unsafe and honest drivers are un-
protected.
Figures show that more people
have been killed in America by
automobiles than by all the wars
in which this country has been
engaged. No wonder life and death
is so lightly considered by the
American people.