IT, 



v. 



OF WALTER DEAN ROSE 



Kesponsibility for the Death to Be 

 Determined by Coroner 

 Tomorrow. 



Student Who Was Knocked From 

 Street Car by Contact With 

 Auto Truck. 



WALTER DEAN ROSE. 



An official investigation of the death 

 yesterday afternoon of Walter Dean Rose, 

 a student at Western High School, who 

 was knocked from a street car at 35th 

 and O streets northwest and killed, will 

 bo conducted at 11 o'clock tomorrow 

 morning in the squad room at police 

 headquarters. Coroner Nevitt fixed the 

 hearing for tomorrow In order that Paul 

 A. Donnally and Harrison H. Lewis, who 

 were thrown from the car at the time 

 Hose was kiled, might be in better con- 

 dition to recite their stories of the 

 cldent. 



G. Ludland, conductor, and F. Johnson, 

 motorman, composing the crew of the 

 car, will appear at the inquest to give 

 their versions of the accident. Other 

 witnesses will include a number of West- 

 ern High School students and persons 

 residing near the scene of the accident. 

 Regarded as Accidental. 

 f'apt. Schneider of the seventh precinct 

 visited the scene of the accident and 

 made inquiries in an effort to fix the 

 blame. When ho had finished his investi- 

 gation he said he had found no reason 

 to order the arrest of either member of 

 the crew of the car. The affair, as he 

 had learned of it, he stated, was purely 

 an accident 



Witnesses told the police captain that 

 the car was In motion when the several 

 students boarded it. The car is of the 

 pay-as-you-enter type, but there is no 

 outer door to prevent passengers from 

 boarding the rear platform while it is 

 in motion. Capt. Schneider says the 

 car had moved fully 100 feet east of 

 the crossing before it reached the auto 

 truck, which was standing near the curb, 

 with which the boys came in contact. 



Capt. Schneider says the auto truck 

 was three and one-half feet from the car 

 track and that there was a clear space 

 of fully two foot between the truck and 

 the car. He says ho is surprised that 

 a fatal accident has not occurred at that 

 corner before. Almost every day, he 

 stated, a number of students board mov- 

 ing cars at that corner. 



Students from Western High School, the 

 captain stated, frequently walk south on 

 3!tth street in groups and many of them 

 ran to overtake moving cars, boarding 

 them while in motion. 



"About four years ago," stated the cap- 

 tain, -my own sou came near being killed 

 there. He ran to overtake a moving ear,, 

 fell and injured his head. I thought he 

 was dead when he was taken to the hos- 

 pital, but he pulled through." 



As Viewed by Students. 

 On the part of tho students, it is claimed 

 that the accident was caused by the car 

 being started before all the passengers 

 could clear tho platform. It is stated that 

 "Rose and his companions and a number 

 of girls boarded the car when it stopped 



at the corner, and the boys who were 

 brushed from the step, It Is claimed, 

 had beet; unable to reach the platform 

 because those ahead of them were de- 

 layed by the collection of fares 



Paul A. Donnally, one of the students 

 was so seriously injured that he probably 

 will not be able to attend tho inquest to- 

 morrow morning. He received ntimerous 

 bruises, and offered from shock and con- 

 cussion Young Donnally this morning 

 had no recollection of what happened 

 yesterday morning, and he has not been 

 told of the death of his companion. 



"Paul had a birthday celebration last 

 Saturday," said his brother this morn- 

 ing, "and he does not remember a thing 



a C OUt H U Williams. a son of Senator John 

 Sharp Williams of Mississippi, was tn 

 the party of students at the time of the 

 accident. He was on the platform, U 

 is stated, and made an effort to save one , 

 of his companions, but failed. 



