Kleiner’s Korner: Three Accidents Involving Motor Parkway Celebrities
This post will report on accidents that happened to three important people associated with the Motor Parkway, Willie K., Gen. Mgr. Arthur Pardington and 1908 Cup winner, George Robertson. If the outcomes of each accident were different the impact on the Motor Parkway and racing would certainly have been significant, as was the case with the Robertson accident.
Art Kleiner
Willie K. In a Frozen Lake
Driving near his Deepdale estate on the evening of Dec. 13, 1906, Willie K.'s car plunged into an icy Lake Success!
Lake Success
The Mercedes was the car, Willie K. was the driver and his chauffeur was the passenger. I suppose Willie favored his driving ability rather than his chauffeur's! (Brooklyn Daily Eagle Dec. 14, 1906)
"lucky escape from death"!
Before, during and after the accident.
An axle broke, causing the wheel to fly off, causing the car to go down an embankment.
The chauffeur gets thrown onto the road and the car ends up in the frozen lake . . .
. . . with Willie crashing through the ice! Luckily he got himself out and walked back with his car towed and repaired.
Arthur Pardington's Narrowing Accident
In May of 1910 Pardington on a trip with a photographer to photograph a new section of the Parkway ran into tire problems in Central Park. Reported elsewhere the car was noted as being a Chalmers. (Brooklyn Citizen May 15, 1910)
Not severely injured Pardington was able to drive the car back to Hempstead for repairs where he was living at the time. The photographer (supposedly of the firm, Spooner and Wells) received cuts and bruises - wonder if he was able to photograph parts of the new Parkway and the accident. (Brooklyn Standard Union May 15, 1910)
While we all know of Willie K.'s problem adhering to speed limits, here's an incident between Pardington and the law regarding speeding resulting in a $10 fine! (Brooklyn Home Talk The Item Sept. 11, 1907)
George Robertson
During a practice run preparing for the 1910 Vanderbilt Cup Race, George Robertson invited a photographer to accompany him in his Benz. The photographer played a role in the accident that caused Robertson to have to sit out the actual race. (Brooklyn Citizen Sept. 23, 1910)
Robertson noted that he was "leary of the car" and would not speed (which he eventually did) while his wife had a premonition of him being in an accident. Coincidence? (Brooklyn Citizen Sept. 23, 1910)
As I mentioned, as time went on there were many accidents on the Motor Parkway, many fatal! Causes were often cited as excessive speed, driver recklessness, intoxicated drivers or mechanical. And in some cases the roadway and bridges themselves also became hazards. The current infrastructure bill just passed might have helped! One can only wonder.
Comments
If they had just worn their seat belts none of these injuries would have happened.
Here is a picture from Willie K.‘s own photography albums (courtesy of the Vanderbilt Museum) showing the accident I had described above at Deepdale in Dec., 1906. However as Willie K. notes, the car was a DeDietrich. The articles above indicate it as a Mercedes. Possibly this photo is a different accident as the car does not appear to have gone into Lake Success while the above articles state it did. What do you think?
Art, NEAR Lake Success. That’s water in the background
Yes Frank, I guess the driver could have been thrown in the water as shown in the article. But still wondering about which car it is - Mercedes or a De Dietrich.