A Near-Fatal Carriage Crash on the Beach Road
A local man is severely injured when a startled team of horses plunges off an embankment, highlighting the dangers of early Seattle 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.
Mr. McGellicar was seriously injured yesterday while driving along the beach road. His team of horses, startled by the noise of an approaching carriage, became unmanageable. As the horses veered, the wheel of the carriage struck a stump, tearing the axle off. The carriage immediately overturned, and the team, still attached to the pole, plunged off the bank, precipitating the carriage and the team down the railroad track embankment. Mr. McGellicar was severely injured about the head and was taken to the hospital; the extent of his injuries could not be immediately ascertained. The other occupants of the party fortunately escaped uninjured.
“The carriage immediately overturned, and the team, still attached to the pole, plunged off the bank, precipitating the carriage and the team down the railroad track embankment.”
The precarious nature of 1880s Seattle road building—often literally carved into cliffs or embankments—serves as an early reminder of the city's long-standing, difficult relationship with its challenging topography and transport safety.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.