Jackson County, Missouri Genealogy Trails

Inquests

Kansas City Star, Friday, December 1, 1939:

WAIT ON BRUCE INQUEST
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Prosecutor to decide then on car death action.
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Mrs. Ruby Belshe, driver in the fatal accident last night, posts bond pending Coroner's Inquiry.

Mrs. Ruby Belshe, 45 years old, 2618 East Seventy-Third Street, was free on $1,000 coroner's bond today pending an inquest at 9:30 o'clock December 12 into the motor car death of Mrs. Hazel Bruce, 50 years old, 3119 Charlotte Street.

Enos Axtell, an assistant prosecuting attorney, interviewed Mrs. Belshe this morning and looked over police reports on the accident last night in which Mrs. Belshe's car killed Mrs. Bruce. He said the prosecutor's office would decide after the inquest what action it will take.

Mrs. Belshe's 20 year old daughter, Miss Betty Jane Belshe, an art student, who was riding with her mother when the car struck Mrs. Bruce, accompanied Mrs. Belshe today, as did her lawyer.

Mrs. Belshe told police she "deeply regretted the accident," but that she felt it was unavoidable.

She said that Mrs. Bruce was crossing Sixty-Third Street diagonally at Harrison Street when she was struck. Mrs. Bruce died a few hours later in the General Hospital.

Besides her husband, Mrs. Bruce leaves four sons, William L. Bruce, Jr, Aaron Paul Bruce and Amos W. Bruce of the home, and Hubert A. Bruce, 2720 Tracy Avenue; two daughters, Miss Marjorie Bruce and Miss Lois Bruce, both of the home; her mother, Mrs. Josephine McFerrin, Blairstown, Mo.; two brothers, Robert McFerrin, Blairstown, and James M. McFerrin, 5322 Park Avenue; and two sisters, Mrs. Lillian Hodges, 4910 Bell Street, and Mrs. Pearl Counts, Quick City, Mo."
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Addendum: Hazel Irene (McFerrin) Bruce was the daughter of J.A.J. and Josephine (Satterwhite) McFerrin, and was born 27 Nov 1888 in Missouri, dying on 30 Nov 1939, age 51. Hazel married William Lloyd "Pete" Bruce.

submitted by Janet (Bruce) Nelson source #110