Tragedy at King and Commercial
A jury awards $1,000 to the parents of a 13-year-old boy killed by a Northern Pacific locomotive at a busy downtown crossing.
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.
The hard-fought damage case of Michael Bockey and wife against the Northern Pacific Railroad Company for $10,000 damages by the death of their 13-year-old son, who was killed by a locomotive at the corner of King and Commercial streets October 17, 1892, came to an end yesterday by the jury in Judge Beatty's court bringing in a verdict for the plaintiffs for $1,000 damages, with costs. In the course of the trial, it was pretty well proven that the lad was negligent in trying to cross the track in front of the engine. It is not probable that any appeal will be taken by either side.
“It was pretty well proven that the lad was negligent in trying to cross the track in front of the engine.”
The intersection of King and Commercial (now 1st Ave S) was a deadly industrial gauntlet in the 1890s. This story serves as a reminder of how lethal the rapid, unregulated expansion of rail lines through urban residential and transit corridors was for the city's youth.
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