He Raced the Streetcar—and Fell Beneath It

A boy was killed at 7:30 last evening by a car of the Front Street line at the corner of Harrison and Poplar streets. It was night, and a young man and a companion were the only passengers on the car to witness the tragedy besides the gripman and conductor. Being dark, the accident was not observed by people living along Poplar Street near that crossing.

From statements obtainable last evening from two eyewitnesses, the accident was due to the lad's rashness in trying to cross the track ahead of the car. He caught his foot in the switch and fell with his head in the middle track. He was so close to the moving car that it was on and over him before the gripman could use both powerful levers and bring it to a stop. This he did about ten feet before the crossing.

Willing hands at once backed the dummy from over the body and a sickening sight met the eyes of the helpers. The boy had been caught under the body of the dummy, which does not rise more than six inches from the track, and then rolled over and the life crushed out of him, the skull being crushed like an eggshell, with blood oozing out of mouth, ears, nose and eyes. The left ankle was broken, the body bruised and maimed in several places, and the clothes generally torn and muddied. The boy never knew what killed him; the whole occurrence was so quick that the time could be measured by a very few seconds.

The sad news was borne in advance to the parents of the boy at their home, 311 Pike Street, and father, mother, brothers and sister prepared to receive the procession carrying the poor little mutilated remains. The scene that ensued was a sorrowful one.

Coroner Askam was quickly summoned to the scene, where he found Assistant Superintendent W. M. Caldwell of the cable line, to whom the gripman and conductor had reported the matter. The gripman, Benjamin Wyman, and the conductor, E. S. Laird, were seen by a reporter of the Post-Intelligencer, and their story was identical in every respect: the boy ran along the right side of the dummy on Poplar Street, between Thomas and Harrison streets, going north. The boy appeared to be racing with the car and ran along thus for about half a block. When nearing the crossing at Harrison he forged ahead until he was about two feet ahead of the dummy, then quickly made a run to cross the track in front of it. His foot went to something and before anything could be said or done he fell and the car went on and over him and all was over.

The gripman had, as usual, full control at his levers, and on seeing the boy fall he threw both levers and is positive that he stopped his car within about three feet after the car struck the boy. This is in a measure borne out by the fact that the car was stopped before the front standard touched the body.

Coroner Askam will hold an inquest at 2 o'clock this afternoon at the home of the parents, when a rigid investigation into the circumstances will be made.