Tragic Thursday - So The Newspapers Said...

From the Elyria Evening Telegram, Friday 8 May 1914, Front Page -

ONE DYING AS RESULT OF AN AUTO ACCIDENT

Gertrude Krughman Has Not Recoved Consciousness Since Mishap

As a result of their Ford machine in which a party of four, were journeying to this city from Lorain early Thursday evening, turning turtle, at stop 7 on the green line.

Gertrude Krughman, of Fourteenth street Lorain is suffering from a fractured skull and it is not expected that she will recover. Charles Gawn, better known as "Curley." an employee of the Superior Metal Products Co., of this city, sustained a compound fracture to the right elbow and his face and hands were horribly lacerated by broken glass with which he came in contact when he struck the pavement. Two Uninjured Mr. and Mrs. Dan Brown, of Fifth street, this city, were stunned by being thrown to the pavement, but escaped serious injury when the light machine struck the green line car tracks and rolled over and over until it landed in the ditch. Brown who was driving the car, says the machine skidded into the tracks and that he lost control of it, Miss Krughman and Gawn being thrown several feet from the machine.

 Bodies Missing

When Brown and his wife recovered from being stunned, they looked about for the other occupants of the car, but not finding them, supposed they were under the wrecked machine, the motor of which was still running. Passengers alighted from a green line car and the machine was righted, but the bodies were not under the car and they were soon found a considerable distance away from where the machine struck the rails.

Still Unconscious

Miss Krughman has not regained consciousness since the accident occured and it was announced at the hospital that she is suffering from a concussion of the brain from which she has little chance of recovery. Nurses who attended the unfortunate young lady, feared that her hair pins had punctured her brain, but such was not the case. Her hands were also badly cut by the flying glass, although she was not nearly as badly disfigured as was Gawn.

Different Opinions

Brown claims that he was not driving the car at a very rapid rate, but those who visited the scene of the accident do not agree with him on the particular point.

[Note: Gertrude does survive this accident although it is never updated in the newspapers. She marries Roland Dunfee, has 6 children and dies at the ripe old age of 80 in 1978.]