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A passenger was killed and nine others on Georgetown car No. 336 were injured when the street trolley car jumped the tracks and crashed down the hill on East Market Street in Wilkes-Barre on Sept. 1, 1923.
				&ldquo;John Tobias, 133 S. Walnut St., Wilkes-Barre Township, is being held without bail at city police station charged with manslaughter as the result of Saturday afternoon&rsquo;s trolley car runaway when a street car dashed down East Market Street hill, resulting in the death of Mrs. Anna Kortes, aged 33, 985 E. Northampton St., Georgetown, a passenger, and seriously injuring nine others. A number of other passengers were slightly injured,&rdquo; the Wilkes-Barre Record reported Sept. 3, 1923.
				Georgetown No. 336 was inbound to center city when Tobias, driving an automobile, struck the trolley at East Market and Welles streets.
				Officials of the Wilkes-Barre Railway Company told reporters the crash broke the air line controlling the brakes on the trolley car that careened out of control for several city blocks.
				&ldquo;The trolley car came crashing down the hill, tearing down poles and light standards, and leaving a trail of injured in its wake. Jammed against the curb the car was finally halted at a point opposite of Lincoln Street,&rdquo; the Record reported.
				Tobias was fined $25 for being drunk and held on $500 bail charged with manslaughter and driving an automobile while under the influence of intoxicating liquors. A passenger in his vehicle, Joseph Grushefski, was fined $25 for being drunk and held on $500 as a material witness.
				&ldquo;Saturday&rsquo;s accident was most spectacular and caused great excitement. Thousands of people rushed to the scene following the accident and every available ambulance was pressed into service,&rdquo; the Record reported.
				Kortes was transported to City Hospital where she died two hours after the crash. A medical examination revealed she died from a fractured skull she suffered when she leapt from the out-of-control trolley, reported the Record.
				Kortes&rsquo; daughter, Nettie, was slightly injured.
				Other passengers jumped from the trolley before it reached the steepest point of the hill.
				Daniel Loftus, a Wilkes-Barre Railway Company employee, was waiting to board the trolley car when he noticed the motorman was missing.
				&ldquo;At the risk of his own life, Loftus took a flying leap at the front vestibule and landed safely there. He tried to apply the brakes but according to his story they were useless. He stuck to the car until its mad plunge ended,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Sept. 3, 1923.
				A coroner&rsquo;s inquest was held at the Luzerne County Courthouse days after the crash.
				Trolley conductor John Diets and trolley motorman David Harding testified before the coroner&rsquo;s jury.
				&ldquo;The crew of the trolley car were called and described how they had alighted to get the names of the occupants of the automobile which had struck the trolley car a few minutes before the runaway. While they were getting the information, the trolley car started on its dash. They testified they ran after it,&rdquo; the Times Leader reported Sept. 8, 1923.
				Members of the coroner&rsquo;s jury inspected the damaged Georgetown No. 336 at the railway company&rsquo;s barn on Northampton Street in Kingston on Sept. 8, 1923.
				After the inspection, the coroner&rsquo;s jury returned to the courthouse to deliberate.
				After one hour of deliberating, the jury gave their verdict to Coroner Frank D. Thomas.
				&ldquo;We believe that gross neglect was shown on the part of the crew in charge of said car in allowing said car to remain on a step grade without the proper protection for the safety of the passengers,&rdquo; the verdict ruled.
				Tobias was found to be a &ldquo;contributory&rdquo; to the cause of the accident.
				Tobias was also absolved of blame for causing the accident after a hearing before Luzerne County Judge Henry A. Fuller.
				&ldquo;We are not convinced beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was operating his automobile under the influence of intoxicating liquor. We find the defendant not guilty but by the beneficent anomaly which the law allows, we direct him to pay the costs,&rdquo; Judge Fuller ruled as reported in the Evening News on Dec. 5, 1923.

Look Back: Street trolley crash in 1923 killed one, injured others