Thrown From the Cable Car
A woman seeks damages after being flung from a Union Trunk Line car when the gripman lost control.
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.
Eliza M. Frazer sued the Union Trunk Line yesterday to recover $10,230 for injuries alleged to have been received by being thrown from one of defendant's cars. Her complaint sets out that on January 18, 1892, she took passage on one of the James Street cable cars downtown. When nearing the power house the gripman negligently loosened the grip from the cable and the car ran ahead with such speed and brought up with such a jar that the plaintiff was thrown off and struck the ground, receiving serious injuries to the back and spine. The plaintiff alleges that she was in bed for several weeks as a result of the accident, and was compelled to pay out for a physician, nursing and medicine. The permanent injury done to her spine she places at $10,000.
“The car ran ahead with such speed and brought up with such a jar that the plaintiff was thrown off.”
This incident recalls the dangerous infancy of Seattle's public transit infrastructure, which necessitated rapid expansion—and often caused accidents—before safety regulations were standardized.
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