Roller Coaster Accident at Summit Beach (Part 3)

Roller Coaster accident - 1918-07-08, headlineRoller Coaster accident - 1918-07-08, part 3BLOCK OF WOOD PLACED ON TRACK OF ROLLER COASTER
(continued from Page One)

wreckage was gone over and victims drawn forth.

Mrs. Floyd W. Van Sickle, of 70 Cherry st., was one of the first to be removed from the debris. She was alive and was taken to one of the booths on the ground where she was joined by her husband, who had not made the trip. Her death followed as she was being rushed to the City Hospital.

Another victim of the crash, Mrs. Agnes Kurth, was a friend of Mrs. Sickle and had accompanied her on the flight that ended so disastrously. Mrs. Kurth sustaining a broken leg and arm and sprained back. The Van Sickle and Kurth families had gone to the park together in Mr. Kurth’s automobile. While Kurth and Van Sickle made a trip around, their wives had seen to the comfort of little six year old Charlotte Van Sickle, who was too timid to accompany the men. Her timidity may have saved her life later for when she still refused to go her father and his friend cared for her while their wives entered the cars and were borne aloft.

“Roller Coaster Accident At Summit Beach Sends Three to Death, With Others Doomed,” Akron Beacon Journal, 8 July 1918, p. 13, col. 2.

A very special “thank you” is in order for the Special Collections Department of the Akron-Summit County Public Library. I emailed my request for more information regarding the roller coaster accident on Saturday and received the results in less than 24 hours. Since I received several days worth of information, I will be breaking the story down into smaller chunks for the rest of this week.

1 thought on “Roller Coaster Accident at Summit Beach (Part 3)

  1. davidmadison1942

    I find the second paragraph about Charlotte confusing. I guess the basic point is that she was too timid to go on the roller coaster.

    Reply

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