Streetcar Accident Maims Local Working Horse
A runaway streetcar in Tacoma injures a horse, highlighting the dangers of failing public transit infrastructure.
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.
Yesterday afternoon, while on the way to the Harrison woodyard, one of the horses belonging to Alexander Brownlee was knocked down and seriously injured by a freight car belonging to the street railway company. The car was not running at a very high rate of speed, but was beyond control, because the brakes were not working properly. The car struck Brownlee's horse on the side and hip and threw it. One foot was caught between the brake beam and the wheel and badly wrenched. It is very doubtful if the horse will be of any further use.
“The car was not running at a very high rate of speed, but was beyond control, because the brakes were not working properly.”
Accidents involving failing municipal infrastructure were common in early 20th-century Tacoma. The incident mirrors contemporary concerns regarding the maintenance and safety of public transportation systems that residents rely upon daily.
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