Monday 17th August 1896

Housewife Mrs Bridget Driscoll (44) travelling from Old Town, Croydon to a folk-dancing display in Crystal Palace, became the first pedestrian in the UK to be killed by a car. At Mrs Coroner William Percy Morrison at Mrs Driscoll’s inquest said he hoped that “such a thing would never happen again” and was the first to apply the term “accident” to violence caused by speed. inquest offered two different versions of events. May Driscoll claimed that the driver had been following an erratic course, and shouted no warning. May had spotted the vehicle in time and stepped out of the way to avoid it. Her mother was struck, despite raising an umbrella in warning. One witness testified that the motor had been travelling “as fast as a bicycle”. Another described the vehicle’s progress “as fast as a fire-engine — in fact, as fast as a horse can gallop”. Testimony from Edith Standing, a domestic servant riding in the car, didn’t quite match up. She claimed the driver, Arthur James Edsall (20), had shouted ‘Stand back’ and rang his bell. “Two of the three persons rushed to the left of the car, but the deceased woman seemed to lose her presence of mind, and hesitated which way to turn.” Startled, like a rabbit caught in headlights, Mrs Driscoll was mowed down and killed. The final verdict was accidental death, with no negligence on the part of the driver. Nevertheless, the Crystal Palace Company, owners of the estate and Mr Edsall’s employers, agreed to pay the cost of the funeral. A further fatality occurred the following year when a child was crushed by a motor vehicle in Hackney.