The Invisible Trailer: A Wagon Accident in Richland
A local transfer driver accidentally struck a woman with a trailing wagon, highlighting the hazards of rural road traffic during the horse-drawn era.
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.
What might have proved to be a fatal accident occurred on the road between Kennewick and Richland in front of the Bartlett ranch. Abe Hudson, who is driving for the Richland Transfer Co., was returning from Kennewick with one of the large company wagons, with another wagon as a trailer. Mrs. Bartlett was just starting up town and saw the wagon coming and stepped out of the way of it but failed to see the trailer behind. She was knocked down by the wagon behind, badly bruised and shaken and if it had not been for her presence of mind in rolling out of the way of the wheels, she would undoubtedly have either been killed or at least very seriously injured. A peculiar feature of the case is that Mr. Hudson never knew a thing about the accident for three or four days, or until some friends in town were speaking to him about it. He did not see the trailer hit Mrs. Bartlett and was much surprised and shocked to learn of the accident. At this writing the victim of this peculiar occurrence is perfectly well again and says that hereafter she will look behind every wagon she sees to be sure they are not coming in relays.
“She says that hereafter she will look behind every wagon she sees to be sure they are not coming in relays.”
Road safety remains a critical concern for Richland and Kennewick as infrastructure struggles to keep pace with rapid population growth and shifting transportation modes. While wagons have been replaced by high-speed vehicles, the tension between industrial transit and neighborhood pedestrian safety remains a constant in local civic life.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.