The Guthrie Daily Leader

Speeding Autos Crash

An automobile accident in which at least five people narrowly escaped death occurred yesterday afternoon shortly after four o'clock at the corner of Washington avenue and Vine street. As it was, three girls, Miss Frances Leitner, Vera Norris and Misses Mamie and Leo Gooch were badly bruised and cut. Donald Eacus was driving a seven passenger Buick car belonging to O. T. Lewis. He had picked up the four girls near the high school, and was giving them a lift to town when a stranger driving a Hupmobile drove around them. Eacus, it seems, did not like to be passed by a Hupmobile and so he stepped on the gas and the race was on. When the cars reached the intersection of Vine and Washington, a Ford truck, travelling fast and driven by Walter Alling came in from the east. All of the cars were going too fast to stop and the Ford and the Buick crashed. The Ford was lifted in the air by the impact and turned turtle, the Buick car also was thrown on its side and one of the girls, Miss Norris hurled through the windshield. All of the girls were bleeding profusely when help arrived. The injured ones were taken to the Methodist hospital where first aid was rendered by Dr. Petty. Alling was rendered unconscious when his car turned over, but is none the worse off today for the experience. The girls will all recover according to Dr. Petty. Miss Norris is in the hospital, the other young ladies are at their homes. The driver of the Hupmobile managed to skid his car to safety and rendered what help he could to the injured girls. Later on city police arrested him for speeding, but he was released when he told his story. Eye witnesses are reluctant to state who really was the most to blame for the accident. One thing is certain, however, if fast and reckless driving of automobiles is not curbed in the city there will certainly be many serious accidents. Vine street, leading to the city high school is a wonderful street and on account of its smoothness many of the younger drivers take advantage of it to speed. This should be stopped, even if in order to do it, a policeman is stationed on that street. Reckless driving endangers the lives of the children who walk and that street is the school children's street and should be kept clear of automobiles.