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Out Of Control Truck Misses Eveing But Harms Car, Conoco Station• • * * 4~rw.W-*y\ J .y . *.;• : • r;- - lt;V-V-V■ nMonticello folks and police officers were being thankful Sunday afternoon that ho one was killed in a freak accident which wrecked a car, damaged a truck and smashed the side of theConoco Oil Station.Shown above are two views of the results of the accident which happened about 20 minutes to 12 Sunday morning. When things stopped happening, the white Bliss Transfer truck was jammed up .against the west wall of the Conoco Service Station and a car owned by Henry Harms was reposing inside the office of the station!According to Police Officer Ivan Reynolds, the truck, which was owned by John D. Gatto, Cedar Rapids/ and driven by Clem E. Robinson, also of that city, was coming into Mopticello from the west. Robinson tried to shift from overdrive to regular drive at the top of Main Hill, but in so doing, killed the motor. With the motor not running, the driver had no vacuum to operafe the brakes and was unable to get the truck into gear. Attempts to start the motor foiled.The truck gathered momentum as it raced down the hill and sped through the line~up of cars at the Presbyterian church corner. It raced on through a stop sign at the Bank cojrner, whereit was picked up by Officer Reynolds who, thinking he had caught a drunken drivver, trailed it, clocking its speed at 40 miles an hour.Reynolds said that Robinson was trying to avoid hitting a car ahead of the truck and turned off to the right in an attempt to wind up in an open field behind the Conoco station. Hitting an electric lamp post locked his steering aparatus, however, and steered the truck right into the back of the Harms car which had been parked against the station. The impact of the accident drove Harms' cor through the station wall and against the east wall of the office room. Show cases and other equip* ment in the office was smashed.Station operator Fred Faust said that it is just a miracle that no one was killed since, especially on Sunday mornings, there are usually a few people standing around in the office. Only injury was to the driver of the truck, and Officer Reynolds said that he was only shaken'up.Damage to the truck was estimated at $125; to Harms car, total loss; and to the building and contents, $1,500. The building is owned by M. T. Stott. No charges were filed against Robison. — Express Photos.aI A
Newspaper Details
Monticello Express
Monticello, Iowa, US
Thu, Apr 19, 1951
Page 6
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
NA, 16 Jul 2021
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