A Deadly Winter Afternoon on Seattle's Unfenced Sidewalks

Frank Cady, the 17-year-old son of Joseph Cady, who lives on Farragut Street near Willow, was killed almost instantly about 5 o'clock last Monday while coasting on Prospect Avenue. There is a long steep hill on Prospect Avenue, up from Lake Union, with a sidewalk its entire length on which the boys in the neighborhood were coasting. It was a most dangerous place for this kind of sport, for the hill is very steep and the sidewalk is elevated the greater part of its length several feet above the ground on the lower side and is without a railing. A misguided sled might run off at almost any place and could scarce result in anything short of a serious injury because of the frozen condition of the ground. Frank Cady joined the crowd with his sleigh, which was not a very strong one. When he struck the Willow Street crossing coming down the first time, his sled broke down and he went headlong against the sidewalk on the opposite side, striking it with his right temple. He lay there unconscious, and the other boys notified his parents, who carried him into the house. Before medical aid could be summoned, he died, without recovering consciousness, inside of twenty minutes from the time he was injured.