Head-On Collision of Two Automobiles

Five Persons Hurt When Machines Collide on Viaduct

Mrs. Gertrude H. Leak, Oak Cliff, and R.P. Rhea, Forney, Are Seriously Injured – Jitneys Demolished

Dallas Morning News
Wednesday, 21 April 1915, Page 16

Two persons were seriously injured, two others sustained bruises and lacerations, one other was bruised, and two automobiles were demolished yesterday afternoon, shortly after 3 o’clock, when two jitneys met in a head-on collision in the middle of the viaduct. The injured are:

Mrs. Gertrude H. Leak, 121 West Twelfth street, Oak Cliff; puncture of the frontal bone above the nose and a laceration; zigzag cut to the bone about four and a half inches long on the left side of the head; left ear torn upward from the face for about one inch; double fracture to the left collar bone; four inch laceration above broken collar bone which tore through the muscles and severed an artery; left wrist sprained; blood tumor over the left knee and left thigh badly bruised. Mrs. Leak was removed to the Baptist Sanitarium where Dr. W.T. White attended her.

R. P. Rhea, Forney, Texas, seriously injured. Mr. Rhea sustained a number of lacerations on the head. All of the hair at the front of the head was scraped off where he struck the pavement. There were several bruises about the legs and body. He was given treatment at the Emergency Hospital to where he was brought in a semi-conscious condition.

C.M. Richmond, 709 Laurel street, former Boy Scout Commissioner for Dallas, was badly injured. He sustained severe cuts about both hands and a laceration of the scalp. He was given treatment at the Emergency Hospital and sent to his home. He was semi-conscious when removed from the wreck.

Severe Shaking Up

Mrs. O.A. Staple, 619 West Twelfth street, driver of the outbound jitney, sustained several cuts about the hands and arms from the flying glass of the broken windshield.

All of the injured persons were removed in other jitneys or private automobiles. Mrs. Staple and Mr. Rhea who were in the rear seat of the outbound car, and Mr. Richmond who was in the front seat, were thrown clear of the car when the collision occurred. Mrs. Leak was caught in the crash and was pinned down by the car. She was extricated by several men who drove up immediately after the collision.

C.C. Kener, 1414 Jackson street, was the driver of the automobile bound toward the city. He was uninjured. Motorcycle Officers Parsons and Phillips filed a charge of reckless driving against him. There were four passengers in this machine, it is said, but none of them were injured.

Tells of Accident

Mr. Way was driving the outbound jitney in which all of the injured persons were riding. He said that there were no automobiles on his side of the viaduct for him to pass and that he was driving a straight course. He said that he was just a little more than eight feet from the curbing. The first time that he saw the other automobile, he said, was when it darted out from behind another machine and crashed into his (Way’s) automobile. Mr. Way said that he was not thrown from the car but that the man in the front seat with him, Mr. Richmond, was thrown over the windshield. Mr. Way said that the accident was entirely unavoidable on his part and that he was not going at an excessive rate of speed.

Mr. Way said that his machine was badly smashed and that the front seat was smashed into the rear one, pinning Mrs. Leak between the two seats. The other two occupants of the rear seat were thrown clear, he said.

Ben F. Cullom, County Clerk, was driving behind the outbound jitney and said that he had noticed that the car was on the right side of the road. He said that he was not looking at the cars when the crash came but that the report of the collision was like an explosion.

Sees Collision

D.C. Whitley, deputy county clerk, was riding with Mr. Cullom and was watching the automobiles when they came together. He said that the inbound car came out from behind another machine on the left hand side of the road and crashed into the front of the outbound machine. He said that the small car was smashed by the bigger car. He said that the large machine seemed to swing around after the collision and to smash the smaller car.

There were a number of machines on the viaduct at the time of the accident and the collision caused a great deal of excitement. Two auto-ambulances were sent to the scene immediately but all of the injured had been removed when they got there. Several motorcycle officers also answered calls from there. The smashed machines stood on the viaduct for several hours following the accident.

Notes:

I believe that “Mr. Way” is actually R.P. Rhea, although it’s not clear whether this was Jr. or Sr.

Jitneys were the Uber of the day. “An average driver could operate a jitney by charging each rider a nickel for their ride. Jitney actually means nickel in old-time slang terms. With the introduction of jitneys, people now had comfortable riding experiences in upholstered cars, as opposed to the crowded and infrequent streetcars. And for the drivers, they could overcome economic struggles, especially when the fares increased.” (Source: Gettin’ Jitney With It: A Brief History on Jitneys)

The Viaduct is a bridge that crosses over the Trinity River in Dallas. Built in 1910, it is currently Houston Street and a one-way bridge, the return bridge being the Jefferson Blvd Viaduct. The Houston Street Viaduct was at one time the longest concrete bridge in the world.