SEP 23, 1897: In Britain, 9yr old Stephen Kempton becomes the first child in the world to die in an automobile fatality in Hackney northeast London. He had been hitching a ride (called cadging) from the back of a taxi by jumping onto the springs when his coat got caught in the driving chain. He lost his grip and was pulled under the vehicle's wheels which crushed him to death. In Aug 1896, the first female -- and pedestrian -- to die in an accident was 44yr old housewife Bridget Driscoll who along with her teenage daughter & a female friend, stepped into the path of an oncoming car at the Crystal Palace in London that was holding a motor exhibition giving demonstration rides. The 2 other women managed to get out of the way but Driscoll was hit and died after the collision from head injuries & a fractured skull. In Feb 1898, the first motorist to die in an auto crash was 42yr old businessman Henry Lindfield in Surrey southwest London who was with his teenage son. Driving to his home in Brighton, his electric carriage overturned at high speed and crashed into a tree crushing his leg. His son was thrown from the vehicle unharmed. Lindfield was hospitalized in Croydon where his leg was amputated and he died the following morning. In Feb 1899, the first death of a passenger in an auto accident was that of Major James Stanley Richer in the borough of Harrow-on-the-Hill in London. The car's driver was E.R. Sewell who crashed at an intersection. Both men were not wearing seatbelts and were each thrown from the vehicle with Sewell killed on impact from hitting a wall while Richer died 3 days later from his head injuries. Overall, the world's first-ever auto fatality is recorded as being 42yr old prominent microscopist Mary Ward of the Irish Midlands who in Aug 1869 fell from her 3-wheeled steam-powered carriage after a sharp jolt on a bending road. She was crushed by its heavy iron wheels & a broken neck causing instant death.
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