May 30, 1896

Posted on May 30, 2019 by Joel Byers

On May 30, 1896, the first automobile accident occurred in New York City. Automobilist Henry Wells of Springfield, Massachusetts struck cyclist Ebeling Thomas with his horseless carriage. Witnesses said that Wells appeared to lose control of his noisy contraption and began zigzagging along the road. This apparently confused Thomas, who rode straight into the path of the vehicle of ‘the future”. Thomas suffered a broken leg and Wells, a scion of the Springfield Wells” spent a couple of nights in the One-Star Hotel, also known as the Jail at the police station at West 125th Street, where the breakfast brunch was not up to Michelin standards.

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About Joel Byers

Born in North Georgia and educated at some very fine public institutions. Real education started after graduating from college and then getting married and raising two boys. Has the ability to see the funny and absurd in most things and will always remark on it, even if it means getting the stink-eye from his victims.
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