A Miraculous Escape on Front Street
A young boy was run over by a delivery truck, yet managed to walk away with his life.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Eigie Myers, a young boy with long brown hair, was run over by the Northwestern Cracker Company’s truck at the corner of Front and Madison streets yesterday morning. That he escaped instant death was the wonder of those who witnessed the accident. The little one lives in the Epler block with his mother, and during her absence, went down to Front street to play. They amused themselves by jumping on and off the truck, despite the warnings of the driver. Finally, Eigie tried to get off between the wheels and was knocked down. A bystander lifted the wheel off the boy’s body and pulled him out. Though he complained of internal pain, City Physician Faltuer could not find indications of external injuries, and the boy showed signs of recovery at the hospital.
“That he escaped instant death was the wonder of those who witnessed the accident.”
This near-miss on a busy 1891 thoroughfare captures the lethal intersection of heavy freight transport and urban life in early Seattle. Today, the corner of First and Madison remains a high-traffic corridor, where the hazards have evolved from horse-drawn or early trucks to the modern dangers of transit and gridlock.
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