Wichita Eagle – January 22, 1957 – Page 5A

Wichita’s firs fatal auto accident of 1957 occurred Monday when a 14-month-old girl was killed when she was run over by an auto near her home.

The victim was identified as Judy K. Morris, daughter of Mr. And Mrs. Robert Morris, 634 N. Young.

The little girl was killed a few minutes after 5 p.m. when she was run over by an auto driven by Leonard A. Musick, 36, whose address is 650 N. Young, the first house north of the Morris home.

Traffic Investigator Jack Summerville said Musick reported that he had backed out of his driveway and was starting to drive south when he felt his car "thump."

Summerville said the left rear wheel of Musick’s auto passed over the girl.

Police theorized that the tot had wandered from her yard and was playing in the street when Musick backed out of his driveway. Officers said there was a possibility that he might not have been able to see the small child in the street from his auto.

Musick stated he saw her in her yard when he got into his car.

A witness reported that he was standing on a front porch of a house near Musick’s and he saw the man back out of his driveway, but did not see the child in the street. He reported that he first became aware of the accident when Musick jumped from his car and yelled for him to call an ambulance.

The child was pronounced dead on arrival at St. Francis Hospital. Her body was taken to Culbertson Mortuary.

Summerville said he and Sgt. James Foster would confer with the county attorney’s office Tuesday to determine whether there would be any charges filed against Musick.

Obituary submitted by Lonna & Bob Nevil (bobalon@centurytel.net). This page created for Sedgwick County KSGenWeb by John Schunk (jschunk@skpub.com). Not to be reproduced or redistributed without permission.