Hammond Times, Volume 5, Number 9, Hammond, Lake County, 28 June 1910 — Page 1

TEE LAK W TIME EYEHMG EDITION hi VOL. V., NO. 9. HAMMOND, INDIANA, TUESDAY, JUNE 28, 1910 QNE CENT PER COPY. AUTO TRAI OF

THE WKATHEH. EHOWER3 TONIGHT; COOLER PREDICTED; TUESDAY FAIR;

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DEATH

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Hammond Man Killed, One Qirl and 5 Other Young: Men are More or Less Injured

SHEFFIELD AVMCENE Big Touring Car Steering Gear Jams Mows Down Telegraph Poles. 1910 Auto Record KILLED BY AUTOS IN REGION.. 7 INJURED BY AUTOS IN REGION. 47 MACHINES "WRECKED ...29 Favored by a heavy fog dimming the . head-lights , of a big touring car the "Speed Monster again crouched in his favorite lair' at "Death Jog" on Sheffield avenue north of Douglas Park in Hammond last night and claimed one life and injured six others as a result. No "Worse Happened. The accident la one of the most shocking that ever took place In the region. Peter Ripley the most popular young men In Hammond, timekeeper at the Simplex Railway Appliance Company's offices was killed and six others, one of them a Hegewisch young lady were more or less injured. The automobile in which the young passengers came to grief was the big Betz Stoddard-Dayton touring- car and It was dragged out of the ditch into which it hurdled through a telegraph pole, a mass of twisted steel and crumpled equipment this morning. N. Neck Was Broken. The accident was a terrible one. Peter Ripley who paid for his auto ride with his life was picked up with his neck broken and his crippled bodytwisted In a pitiful manner. If his neck had not been broken he would have been drowned for he was pinned under the car in the water.

SKETCH OF WRECK SCENE BY

DIAGRAM SHOWING TI HX IN ROAD. STREET CR TRACKS, RAILROAD

ASTER.

A WHERE CAR FIRST HIT TELEGRAPH POLE. B WHERE IT HIT SECOND POI E, FIFTY FEET C WHERE CAR TURNED TVRTI.E. DOTTED LINES INDICATE PATH OF AITO.

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0 1H THE DEAD. PETER RIPLEY A Red 32, broken, taken to morgue. THE INJURED. FRANK BAKER Lei shoulder badly wrenched, taken to St. Margaret's Hospital and later borne. GEORGE HEISER Cut about head and scalp taken to St. Margaret's Hospital and later home. FRANK BICK Cut about head and faee body wrenched, went home. IRVING BETZ Shoulder dislocated Internal Injuries. FRANK BETZ Cut on hands and face. 3IISS BfERNICE BRACKETT Injured Internally and cut abont head. There were four passengers in the touring car when It left Hammond about nine o'clock for Lake Front Park. Irving- Betz eldest son of Mr. and Mrs. F. , S. Betiz was at the wheel and with him were Peter Ripley, Frank .Bick, George Helser and Frank Baker all well known Hammond young men. The party after their arrival at the park met Frank Betz, Jr. and Miss Bernice Brackett of Hegewisch and about eleven o'clock all started home together. Fog Blurred Lights. As they swung over Indiana Boulevard Into Sheffield avenue Irving Betz who was driving picked up a high speed. A heavy fog covered the road and blurred the headlights. A-mile to the south of the street shed at Forsyth Is a bend in the road, the angle is about 25 degrees and at the apex of the angle Is a telegraph pole. The auto shot over the Jog In the road before Irving Betz knew he had reached it, but the telegraph pole tore a strip out of it. Jammed the steering system and with the machine going 50 miles an hour the driver was unable to do anything with it. Shot Over Tracks. It seemed as If years were crowded Into the next few moments, so mufti happened. Miss Brackett sat on the seat besides Irving Betz, and Frank Betz sat on the running board nearby her. The other four members of the party were in the tonneau. They knew something serious had happened when the machine shot over the street car tracks, for they should have been on the right of the tracks. Quick as a wink the big touring car had hit the first telegraph pole at the

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Killed in Auto Smashup J f. Peter Ripley. PETER RIPLEY'S LAST WORDS Just before the accident occured Frank Eaker said to Peter Ripley, "let's change seats, you do not seem to be comfortable." Ripley replied, "No I am all right. I will ride this way until we get to Hammond." That was the last word Ripley said. The crash came and Ripley never reached Hammond alive. It is hard to tell what would have happened if Ripley had changed seats. Several of the boys on the trip are certain that the telegraph pole swung back and hit Ripley in the head. They think that was the way he was killed. His goggles were badly smashed from the force of the blow. I Jog over the car tracks. In the gloom Frank Betz, Jr., saw the White pine of the telegraph pole a yard away. He j Jerked up his legs in time to save them ""s iul un ciean, as tne running board following the left front axle grazed the pole and made it tremble like a leaf. Irving knew his steering system wouldn't work. He threw all his strength at the wheel, but the steering column refused to budge. He had no time to throw the marhin -,it ' of high speed, and tried to Jam down the emergency brake, but it refused to work. The machine was careening madly, two wheels on the road the other two over the short embankment. It was like a mad thing. How Ripley Died. As the auto tore over the brush, stone fragments from the road and bumps, Irving Betz knew that tragedy was inevitable. He yelled "Duck your TIMES ARTIST TRACKS AND SCEXE OF DIS-

heads, and Frank yelled "Down everybody." The occupants of the car can hardly tell what happened after that, for the fatal impact with the second telegraph pole 'came and the awful crash. So hard fiid the machine hit the pole that It broke like a match. It was cut off clean at the bottom and a piece, three feet long, fairly sang through the air. It was this projectile that whistled as If shot from a cannon's mouth, which hit poor Peter Ripley and broke his neck, over and over rolled the machine. Girl Thrown Twenty Feet. The violence of the shock sent the sixty-horse-power machine high in the air. It, turned turtle and buried its nose in four feet of water in the ditch with the semi-fear-paralyzed occupants scattered in all directions and buried beneath There was a death-like silence for a few moments and then cries of pain and horror. Frank Betz saw the tonneau over him with the wheels still flying around. Irving Betz was pinned between the seat ana the warped steering column, which hit Vim with violence on the chest and hurt him inwardly as the machine sank in the slough. Miss Brackett was thrown clear over radiator and hood, a distance of twenty feet, and landed on the right bank. George Helser was hurled to the left in the water after being struck by the running board as the machine turtled. Pinioned Under Machine. Blck was pinioned under the right side of the machine, while Baker was hurled to the right into a mass of stone near the side of the road. The unfortunate litt'e cripple, Peter Ripley, unable to do a thing to save his own life, was completely buried under the car an$ under water. He never knew the pang of death, for he was instantly killed by the flying piece of telegraph pole. Frank Betz was the first to emerge from the wreckage. With a deep gash in his hand and bruises on his body, he plowed through the water and began the work of rescue. "All I knew," said Frank, "was that the wheel refused to work. 1 saw the body of the car above me."" It all happened like a flash of lightning. When I saw the telegraph pole ahead, I grabbed Miss Brackett and told; the fellows to lie low." All Were Unconscious. All the-occupants of the car were unconscious from the first shock" when they grappled with death. It was pitch dark. The car's lighting system was crumpled up and the engine stilled. Frank called as he groped in the darkness for dry ground. The first response through the half-unlntelllgable cries of pain came from Frank Baker, who called for Irving Betz. He waded through the water and found Irving plnnerd half in the water and half in the machine. Blck was found half-unconscious and Miss Brackett was discovered ahead of the wrecked car on the bank near the slimy water of the ditch. The auto-wrecked victims thn crtv,

, ered together on the road side and the iuh was caueci. His Laughter Stilled. "Pete" Ripley, litle sunshiny Joking, Jolly, singing ' Pete, was missing. A hasty search was made and under the side of the car on whlcn he had ridden, "Pete" was found buried in the water. He was quite still. Life had fled, and but for his crippled frame, he would have been irrecognizable. The boys laid his dripping form on the roadside and Frank Betz knelt over him with his head close to his breast to see if there was life. Not even a heart beat, and then they knew Peter Ripley had met his fate and had gone "Beyond." where cripples are as welcome as the sound. "Pete's dead," sobbed Frank. All Bruised and Bleedino-. Then the members of the party began to look for aid. They were in a desperate plight, nearly every one of them had lost their shoes. Miss Brackett's garments were torn and there was not a single member of the party who was not bruised and bleeding. Every one was crying, and the pleasure ride had turned into a funeral gathering. George Helser was the first one to speak about getting help. He started towards Roby with Bick and met a street car on the Hammond, Whiting & East Chicago line coming to Hammond. They flagged the car and rode back to the scene of the terrible disaster. When the car stopped the remains of Ripley were carried on the front part of the car and Baker, who was the worst injured, was assisted on the car. Frank Betz went with the party and a stop was made at the Wolf Lake ice house to get W. J. Thompson to telephone for an ambulance and the police. Taken to Morgue. When the street car reached Hammond an ambulance met it at the Sim plex offices and the body of Ripley was removed to the. Krebs Burns' morgue. Messrs. Baker and Heiser were taken to St. Margaret's hospital, where their injuries were cared for. There rhysicians found their injuries not as serious as first believed, and all were able to be removed to their homes In machines. Those remaining at the scene of the disaster were Irving Betz. Miss Brackett, and Frank Bick until relief came. Miss Brackett was not considered strong enough to go to ifammond on the street car. As soon as word reached Hammond of the terrible happening. Captain George Hanlon of the po-

HIGH POWERED BETZ CAR IN WHICH PETER RIPLEY MET DEATH

THIS PICTLRE OF THE BETZ STODDARD-DAYTON, WHICH RAN A Ml'CK LAST NIGHT, W TAKEN FOR THE TIMES BY KARL GRIFFIN AT 5 O'CLOCK THIS MORNING AFTER IT HAD BEEN Tl'RN ED OVER FROM ITS TURTLE POSITION. BROKEN PIECE OF TELEGRAPH POLE SHOWN IN THE FOREGROLMJ.

lice department and the auto patrol was hurried to the scene. Sent Autos Out. On reaching his home Frank Betz, Jr., apprised his terror-stricken parents of the sad occurrence, and with characteristic energy Mr. Betz ordered the fastest machines in town to the spot to bring home the remaining members of the party. Under the direction of a chauffeur,! Frank Bick escorted Miss Brackett, who has been employed for many years as a stenographer at the r . S. Betz of-

nces here, to her home at 1 3512 . Superi- i rest of the occupants of the car moanor avenue. Hegewisch, , where she was ing about him. He found Miss Brackgiven further medical attention. . She ett lying in the water. She was covsuffered, besides several bruises and ered with mud and slime from head to contusions, a svtsre shock and the foot. Betz pulled her out of the watextent of her Internal injuries cannot er and laid her alongside of the road, yet be correctly diagnosed. , She. tat SJFrank Baker, at his home on Far-

very" III today, and some apprehension was felt' for her recovery this morning, though it is announced this afternoon that she is resting easier. Irving in Great Pain. Irving Betz was brought home Jn

company with his brother, Frank, who erel hls senses. Then Heiser suggesthad gone to the auto-wreck a second ed tIlat they go to the White House time, and it was found by Dr. T. W. and telephone for help. Oberlln, the attending physician, that i ri. x r -n i

he suffered intense pain in his chest, besides several bad cuts. The shock

to his nervous system is great and he car. They had some difficulty in inducis almost prostrated at the result of lng the motorman to stop, but finally

the trip to the lake front park, which he made with his other companions to bring his brother, Frank, and Miss' Brackett home from their outing. j The death of Mr. Ripley has affect- ! ed the Betz family deeply, for he was ' a great favorite with them. The popu- j lar Hammond boy had ridden thousands of miles with the Betz boys, and they thought a great deal of him because of his crippled condition and tinfalling good humor and good-heart-edness. Irving Betz has been driving a car for nine years, and has traveled i'ju,uu'j mues in nis auto and never before hurt any one or had a serious accident. Deplore Terrible Event. Both Mr. and Mrs. Betz are heartbroken over the sad event. ine Doys were on their way home," said Mrs. Betz. "It was between 11 and 12 o'clock, after a fish supper at Lake Front park, about a mile and a half f T ' . ' u i-mi.i, iian iaKen Miss Brackett to the place for supper and his brother. Irving, with the boys who were in the machine when the awful accident happened, later went down to the park to meet them and bring them home. "They were going fast when they came to a sharp turn in the main road, between Roby and Hammond. It seems ertnlear0 TVnVT, steering gear. Irving, Irving was driving and he lost control of the car. He couldn't turn it on account of the disarrangement of the gear and the big CtrSVH,l?n th?He y0"nS PePle ln U ..r.h .iia.mm aneaa instead or rounding the curve. Occupants Are Dragged. "It rpn into a telegraph pole and then rolled over three times, dragging some of the boys the whole distance before it crashed into the second telegraph pole and knocked the supports from beneatn it." y George Heiser told of his experiences in the automobile wreck this morning. He said that the car was going along at about fifty miles an hour, as nearly as he could judge, when suddenly it crashed into a telegraph pole and then ran down the embankment. "It started up towards the road again and struck a telegraph pole, cutting it off completely, it went on to the next pole and knocked it over. It then turned turtle twice and finally landed upside down. I got on my feet as quickly as possible. I found Frank Betz calling for "his brother. Later I and Frank Befz found Peter Ripley in the water in the ditch. We pulled him out and tried to make him answer our questions. Betz pulled open his coat and shirt and to see if his heart was beating. Betz then tried to restore

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his reaspiratlon, but was unable to do so. Later we discovered that he was dead. We started towards the lake front for the purpose of calling ' for help. Later we discovered a street car approaching. We stopped it and rode back to the scene of the accident. Ripley's body was placed on the car and taken to Hammond." . , . . . , JYL1SS BraCK6tt in Water. Everyone in the car was stunned for a few minutes after the accident happened. , Frank Betz was the first to recover consciousness. He heard the ettestreet, 1oTd expert errcf&s "Irrtlie automobile wreck. He stated that Tie found himself in the water in the ditch when he regained consciousness. He stumbled up onto the roadway and there fainted again. He thinks it ! was ,en minutes before he again recovoLietJu uar x unerai uar. They started out and met a street did so and went back to the scene of the accident. There they put Ripley on the car and he was taken as far as the Simplex plant, where they met an ambulance that had been called by the conductor who stopped the car at the first house on the way to Hammond. Ripley was s taken to the morgue, and Heiser were taken to the Baker and hospital, where an examination was made of their injuries. ' Frank Bick was Been at the residence of Otto Knoerzer this morning and His gave his version of the accident. description of the manner in which 1 the accident occurred was identical WIth that of. the others-. All Looking for Ripley. j All Bick remembers after the auto- : moble struck the first telegraph pole was crawling out of the water. Bv ' the time he came too the boys were still looking for Ritilev , "u" & Ior "-'P'ej. itipiey was nnaily round and put aboard the street car. Blck remained at the Kcene of the accident until an , automobile came and he then went to Hegewisch with Bernice Brackett, 13512 Superior avenue. Hegewisch. Blck had the wInd -knocked out of ! him and his knee and the side of his ! right leg was Injured. Outside of a few ' bad bruises, he is not seriously injured, 1 "arvey Gdfrey ,S heart-broken over the death of his life-long friend. For years Harvey Godfrey and Peter Ripley have been the same as brotTiers. Godfrey, has befriended him when he needed U and IPJey spent as much of nis time at Godfrey's home as he did at his own. W ere Inseparable Chums. They have been inseparable, and the news of Ripley's death came as a terrible blow to Godfrey. He was at tfce scene of the accident the first thing this morning and cannot bereconciled over his personal loss. The first bouquet of ,,t.wers sent to the morgue, where tne body was taken, was sent there by rtarvey Godfrey, who, it is said, asked Peter not to go out last night. Among the first callers at the morgue this morning was City Clerk Otto Duelke, Mr. Ripley's opponent in the last campaign. Otto was visibly affected at the sight of the dead. The arrangements for the funeral of Peter Ripley have not yet been completed. It is expected, however, that they will be made as soon as Ripley's brother arrives. It is known that the funeral will be held Thursday afternoon, and as Ripley is an Klk and a Knight of Pythias, it is expected that one or both of these orders will have charge of the funeral. This morning, about 4 o'clock, under

the direction of Captain Hanlon and Officer Hoflbeck of the Robertsdale squad, the work of dragging the wreck car from its muddy bed began, and Manager Green of the Hammond, Whiting & East Chicago railway, sent a car to assist in drawing the. auto uo the road in charge of J. W. McMullen of Hammond. Miss Brackett's hat. several shoes and Mr. Ripley's crutch were found floating in the water. A search was made for Mr. Ripley's coat, in which some insurance papers were carried, but it was not found

1 this morning. . The scene where the accident took place is one of great danger to speeding machines, and because of its peculiar position, a sharp turn Is perilous. Two years ago a Chicago young woman in the same kind of an accident was plunged ''through the wind's Weld .erf tout J njgr ca.? 'ffniT tiad ly hurt,: A short distance below the place where last night's accident occurred, threes years ago, one man was killed and another injured in an auto accident. Not far from the scene also ia the railroad crossing where a number of lives have been lost In street car and train collisions. Sheffield avenue is recognized aa one of th most dangerous highways In the state, and is now particularly so because of its rough condition. FIVE HAVE ESCAPE THAT IS MIRACULOUS While Going At High Rate 1 of Speed Car Skids And Is Wrecked. (Special to The Times. ) Crown Toint, Ind.. June 28. The big Knox roadster which figured In the accident on Sunday afternoon on the Cedar Lake road, near the Theodore Staff farm, was taken in a badly crippled and damaged condition to Chicago i . ! yesterday afternoon, by the mysterious party who has eluded all efforts of those desirous of learning his name. The accident and its results was discussed here yesterday and the opinion is voiced that it was one of the luckiest and most miraculous occurences that none In the party was killed or badly injured The car going at the rate of 60 miles an hou struck some of the ' . loose gravel on the !iarfl surface- pk,ddinS the front whejl.s Into the ditch and before the driver could regain contro, of the machine had ploughed its way through two telephone poles, breaking them off as if they had been a match ln the way. The auto contained a party of five and almost .miraculously all escaped serious injury. The car was badly damaged and will necessitate a lot of repairs before it is put into running oder ajrain. The vaue of the accidenc was primarily fast driving and tht occupants o th. machine have everything to be thankful for that the accident terminated as luckily as It did. AUTO CRASHES INTO BUGGY Dyer, Ind., June 2R. A collision occurred here last Sunday when an automobile ran into the buggy belonging to Peter HoiTman, tearing away one wheel and otherwise damaging the vehicle-. Luckily no one was injured. The driver of the machine settled with Mr. Hoffman and then left, a little wiser and a few "plunks" lighter.