Coroner Blackwell Condemns IMS

The article in the attachment below is from the August 28, 1909, Indianapolis News. It reported on the findings of Coroner John J. Blackwell in the aftermath of the deadly events at the first auto races at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway August 19 - 22. Blackwell cited Speedway Management as being at fault for failing to provide adequate safeguards for both competitors and spectators. The following five men lost their lives in two major accidents on different days.

• William Bourque, driver.
• Harry Holcomb, riding mechanic
• Claude Kellum, riding mechanic
• James West, spectator
• Homer Jolliff, spectator

 IMS President & Founder Carl Fisher testified in the case just days earlier - as did several witnesses to the accidents. Blackwell found Fisher's testimony unconvincing. With respect to the deaths of the spectators, Blackwell said:
 
"I find that the machine left the track after the bursting of the tire, leaped off the speedway and caught James West and Oris Jollif  (this man's name is constantly spelled in different ways in news reports) and killed them outright. I find by the testimony that the speedway or roadway at this particular point was in a very bad condition. I find also that the protection of the spectators and the public who paid their admission fee to see the races was very lax. There was no discipline among the guards and soldiers stationed there to guard the public from danger. I find also that there were danger signs and placards placed around the track, and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company knew the dangerous condition that existed there and should have afforded the public more and better protection from accident and death."
 
With respect to riding mechanic Claude Kellum's death, Blackwell said, "I find by the inquest that the cause of the accident was the bursting of a tire on the automobile driven by Charlie Merz. I find by the testimony Claude S. Kellum was the mechanician who accompanied Charles Merz in the automobile that was racing around the track. I find that the cause of the bursting of the tire, that caused the death of C.S. Kellum, was the unfinished track and that the Indianapolis Speedway Company put on the races before the track was completed and safe. I firmly believe that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company should have used more production and not have allowed the races to go on until the track was in good condition."
 
With respect to Bourque and Holcomb, Blackwell declared the track unfit for racing and did not accept Carl Fisher's view that the axle plates of their Knox racer were defective. In elaboration he said, "I, John J. Blackwell, coroner of Marion County, have examined all the witnesses and heard all the testimony in the cases of the deaths of Harry Holcomb and William Bourque, who came to their end on the 19th day of August, 1909, on the race track owned by the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company from an automobile accident. Said accident was caused, first, by the race course not being in condition, and, secondly, that the machine swerved into an open ditch twenty inches wide and about two feet deep that was open for the reception of tiling to drain the low ground. This ditch was on the very edge of the track, and as soon as the machine struck the ditch it went to pieces, turned turtle, and killed Harry Holcomb and William Bourque."
 
Blackwell's opinion on the condition of the running surface is well developed and critical. He said:
 
"I find by my investigation that the roadway was not in condition for fast racing by automobiles, the broken stone that was placed on parts of the roadway, and especially for two hundred feet where Harry Holcomb and William Bourque met their deaths, was put on only a few days before and was not properly rolled or tamped. There was a coating of asphaltum placed on top of the broken stones in order to try to cement the stones together. But after the machines had been working on the track for a short time I noticed that the stone worked up through and it demonstrated to me that there was no foundation for this roadway and the hard usage and test it was put to. I am further satisfied that if this open ditch had not been in the position and place in which it was the two men could have ridden their machine and stuck to the track. As it was, they did not have one chance for their lives after they struck the ditch. I examined the machine and found it apparently in good condition excepting where it was knocked to pieces when it struck the ditch."
 
His closing comments reveal his mindset as a product of the 19th Century. While everyone today would agree that preparations such as an infield hospital and rescue teams to transport them there is a responsible action, Blackwell saw something sinister. He believed it was an implicit confession that Speedway officials fully expected death and energy. Here is what he said:
 
"It is clear to my mind that the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company knew there was going to be a loss of life and limb. The surroundings indicated everything of that kind. They were prepared with a hospital, ambulance forces and every convenience to take care of the dead and dying. Therefore from evidence here shown and testimony taken I hold the officers and managers of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Company responsible for the deaths of Harry Holcomb and William Bourque, and when the grand jury holds its next session I will recommend an investigation of the whole affair."
 
A sidebar to the main article reports on Carl Fisher's reaction to Blackwell's findings and commentary. Fisher reportedly was not surprised about Blackwell's opinion and notes that he refrained from explaining why he thought that. Fisher is quoted:
 
"We will just have to let the public think the thing over and decide on its own verdict. We are sorry that Coroner Blackwell feels as he does about it. It is to be regretted all round. The speedway management worked hard to get the track in good condition and to provide safeguards for the public. That is all we could do."