THE TRAMWAY FATALITY.

Press, Volume LX, Issue 11500, 5 February 1903, Page 2

THE TRAMWAY FATALITY.

I I • ' 9 I . 1... THE INQUiEST. An inqtieefc, touching th« of Albert Eratet Martin, who died at the hospital y«tf*rday amornmff from injuries reccrired on Tuesday night by the Bumper tram running orer him, -was held at the hospital before Mr Jl. Beetham, coroner, yeeteirfay afternoon. Mr G. E. FranfcKu was choaeo foreman of the imy. The Coroner eaki it \ras the jury's bu«, nee flnrt to a*oertain the cause of death, OD-d then to determine if carelessness had coofaributed to £be death dt deceaeed. Alfred Martin, the fother of the deceased, staJted that his son had tea with him on Tuesday J%ht, and left his house about 8 oVflock. Hie eoj» had complained ithnt the trains did »cit ■now stop at the tanka as they used to, which necessitated his walking back to where be tvne employed. Hβ had ajjeo eaid! that the tram iraa not "brought to a standstill when he asked that it should be stopped. John Snook saw the deceased get on the tram at St. Asaph street. He had told wanes* that the tname did not etop at the tanks, and h* had to jump off. Deceased wae sober -when lie saw him. 8. P. Andrews etated thai about 9.30 o'clock on Tuesday night he ■mm riding

home oa his bicjok, and the tram i>us.«ed him. About twenty yards jvieb the tasks he heard bump*, ajft!' concurrently h© heard screams. H© caw the deceased lying oa liifi book, witk his Jfeet, acaoat -lj»e. line. Witness asked liim how the accident occun*d, &nd he replied that they would not pull tip for him. Thte taun when it paved witeejsn was going aibout twelve miles an hour. From Jkroford's vo,\d to the 4%ne thai the train pulled up aft«r the acctdent im did not hear any bel or lignal to etap the tram, Everything that could be <don« On the epot had been done. Mr J. Wood, traffic manager of the Tram Company, asked the wfltuew, through the Coroner, If h© knewthat t<b© tanks wae a regular stopping.place. Witness eaid that he wbb aware ef this, bub thoA trama only when passen? (gers asked tho jpiard to have it eto,pped. Ho nevw know <?he to refuse, and he tittvtiled almo*t ercry day on the tram. William Taylor, one of the' guards on the tram, etated that he took charge of the train at Wool&lon, Jt. consisted of three care, amd there were between fiwioty and eighty p*e*e»ger« on it. He did not ccc deoea«ed on the Unun, nor did lie know where .ALaitin wanted to lejive th* tram; Martin did ncA tell him where he wiebed to aligiit. The tram only «t«pped at the tanks when passengers asked that it should be stopped. A pasxeniger who wished to alight would require to ring the bell if he had not'ipre«vtou«ly informed tho guard of hie desire to alight at the tanks. On feeding the tram bump ehoxtly after parsing .the tanks lie had it stopped, andt he found deceased in tiie position described by the last. wit Deft*. In reply to tl*e Coroner, »Sergeant Fouhey Mtated that he had not been able to get the evidence of any passengers wlio had seen tho deceased jump from the car. Mr Andrews, in repty to the Coroner, stated tihat lie had not eeen tlie deceased jump from the car. Two largo parcels had been found 'lying near the de-waned. The witness Taylor, continuing, stated, in answer to the Foreman of the jury, that all caifl were fitted with beul* end and so far as he knew those on th* tntm were in good order. . ' Frank Riley, guard, etated that no one on the 9.10 tram to Stunner on Tuesday night , asked him to have the tram stopped at the , Tanks. Tlie belle and straps on th« cans ( were in good working order. The driver would puil up as coon as ho heard tho bell 1 ring, and would not wait for tho gnardV * whistle. ] Cbai*les Jackson, tnpne-driver, stated 1 tliat he drove tlie tram which left the square t

ab 9.10 p.m. on TutsiUy night, from W«&3 filon. Ho did not liear cither th* baJToeS the whjetle -when neaping the Tanks.* *\Afriß the lime of tiho Rocident the iwwn «W <&ifl ing at ten milra an hour, which was oriiS > an excessive rate considering the part ofm|S distriot. , " >*^yag Alexander Menritt, gawd, Also gave e*i§» Dr. Groove stated \hai, {fee been admitted to tie Hospital *bcmt rftft&f oaock suffering from compound ftwstt{iii&, of both his legs and from shock. ■ Hi* cdiffe dition \tb4 no bod that it was imptMbtelflS operate, for so hour after admiMitt hX£ ralJed somewhat, but gradually M "lC'tfiß dfe4*t 3 a.m. yesterday. ' The liad, in answer to a question by the »&£!» stated ttait ha had fallen off tie ttu&ttjiii ing jumped off whilst it wa* in W)Uh| Witness asked d«ea*d if bo bad twfawli the tram to be stopped, and he rtnwd asf Tim giwrd Merntt, recafted, *S|W th« • deoeoted hud never on any preview oecta™| asked him tiuit the tram sltcmld *c at the T«nks. Wttnr« waif on th« ginnnw line. . 'i ' TU jinr, after a <4 quarter of an hour, returned the ttSkmsMSm v«xKct :r -J;Th a t tlw shock, the rewult of }njuH«v. repceired con#equ«t c« hip ' from « tram car whiH tin tram motion; and that no blan>e ia to allyojM in tJ>e jnatter," ■~ .• - - Tlio Coroner toid lie did not' they oouia pandbhr brio« in «ay ' diot It vwi T»tVr too roucfe ever, two d«atße hi one week- , . ;^^ Tiie Foremm) eaad tiat getting vary, uneasy on the eobject., h%sl» The Coroner vmmiM fh*t ■ more dangerowi practice t3wm tint oJfitfpi - ting on or off tmnpk vbM, theji motion, 'V-yJiH