Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 101, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 August 1908 — Serious Auto Accident. [ARTICLE]

Serious Auto Accident.

Oxford Tribune. As Thomas Denman, a retired farmer of Boswell, and four others were returning from Lafayette on Tuesday evening they met with an accident, which, if it does not cost one or two lives, will leave! the parties badly scarred. Mr. Denman, Leo Schuessler, Charles Coffenberry, Warren Mankey, of Boswell, and Ralph Fear, of Clinton county, who was running a nickleodian in Boswell, were speeding along in the former’s auto at the rate of thirty miles an hour or more when about two miles east of Otterbein the auto was found to be on fire. The report is that Schuessler, the young man who was running jjhe car, and Coffenberry, who was in the front seat with him, jumped out The car, then without any guiding force, ran into an adjoining field and turned turtle, Messrs. Denman, Fear and Mankey being under the blazing car. Schuessler sustained a sprained ankle; Coffenberry was slightl) burned about the hands, Makey was so badly burned about the-hands that he will be unable to resume his duties as assistant bank cashier for six or seven weeks; Denman was severely burned on the left side and his. age will make his recovery slow if at all. Fear’s bums are about the face and are the most dangerous of aIL He could not be taken to Boswell on Tuesday morning with Mr. Denman.

The cause of the fire is given by an expert to have been started by tbe carburetor leaking and as the ease line felF on the muffler it was ignited. This continued until the heat melted the soldering of the tank and then the car was wrapped in flames. Several living along the road saw the fire under the car, but at the spe d the occupants were going It was impossible to warn them. The auto is a total wreck. It was purchased last year at a co3t of $2,500.