George
P. Woessner, motorcycle patrolman, died in the city hospital early on
the morning of June 24, 1919, from injuries received the evening before
when he was thrown from his machine against a tree. The wreck occurred
while he was speeding to the scene of an accident, where a streetcar
conductor had been fatally injured by an automobile. Patrolman
Woessner was on duty at 8 p.m. on June 23rd when he received word of an
accident at Twenty-second Avenue South and Lake Street. He immediately
started on his machine along Chicago Avenue to obtain information. At
Sixteenth Street, according to witnesses, an unidentified automobile
suddenly shot out into Chicago Avenue. In an effort to avoid a
collision, Patrolman Woessner swerved his machine to one side. It
struck the curb, and Woessner went over the handlebars and his head hit
a tree. It was later found that his skull had been fractured. The
conductor, victim of the accident toward which Patrolman Woessner was
travelling, was struck and fatally injured by an automobile as he
alighted from his streetcar at Twenty-second Avenue South and Lake
Street. The automobile passed over his body according to police
reports. The driver of the automobile drove past the open gates of the
streetcar while passengers were alighting. He was held by the police
pending further investigation. Patrolman Woessner was a
well known member of the police force, having seven years of service.
Until recently he was a regular patrolman at the North Side station.
Police Chief J.F. Walker appointed him to the motorcycle squad June 1st
of this year,when the new group was formed. Patrolman
Woessner was 36 years old, and was recently married. He lived at 1804
Park Avenue South, Flat 3. He was buried in La Crosse, Wisconsin on
June 26, 1919. | 
