Gettysburg, PA Auto Wreck, Jul 1929

Skidding Auto Crushes Woman Against Bridge; Is Seriously Injured

Mrs. Israel Lentz, Mother Of First Adams County World War Victim, Has Bones Broken At Highway Death Trap As She Sits To Tie Loosened Shoe String.

Mrs. Israel Lents, Gettysburg, R. 9, mother of the first Adams county man killed in the World war, was seriously injured at 10:30 o’clock this morning when a skidding automobile crushed her against the wall of the one-way covered bridge over Rock creek on the Hanover road near town.
She was taken to the Warner hospital in the Gettysburg ambulance, where a preliminary examination revealed that her left leg is broken between the knee and ankle, her right arm is broken and her left hand is so badly crushed it is feared it will have to be amputated.
Mrs. Lentz, who is 63 years of age, was on her way home from Gettysburg where she had purchased bread, and had stopped at the eastern end of the covered span to tie a shoe string. In order to tie the loosened string, Mrs. Lentz sat on a wooden runner inside the bridge.
The car which struck Mrs. Lentz was owned by Arthur E. Vossberg, of Pittsburg, and driven by Lukas A. Seraphic, Pittsburg. According to Patrolman J. G. Warren, of Gettysburg, who investigated the crash. Seraphic applied the brakes about 50 feet east of the bridge when he saw another car entering the one-way structure on the west end.
The machine skidded on the road, which had been made slippery by rain, and ran into the woman who was on the south side of the structure. Vossberg and Seraphic suffered minor cuts and bruises in the crash.
Mrs. Lentz, who remained conscious after the accident, failed to realize how seriously she was injured, and before the ambulance arrived, she asked persons in the vicinity to take the bread home and to feed the chickens.
Patrolman Warren said an information charging Seraphic with reckless driving would be sworn out as a result of the accident.
Vossberg’s machine, a sedan, was badly damaged in the crash and was towed to a local garage.
Mrs. Lentz and her husband reside two miles east of Gettysburg, south of the Hanover road. The American Legion post here has named its organization for their son, Albert J. Lentz, who was killed while fighting overseas in the World war. Several years ago Mrs. Lentz was the guest of honor at a legion celebration here.

The Gettysburg Times, Gettysburg PA 22 Jul 1929
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Transcribed by Jenni Lanham. Thank you, Jenni!