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OCR Page 1 of 99AUG 7 1946 APPROVED
/ HARRY
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
bureau OF THE budget
WASHINGTON, 25, D.C.
AUG 3 1946
My dear Mr. Latta:
The Congress has enacted H. R. 5368, "For the relief of W. G.
Magruder."
It is the purpose of the bill to pay the sum of $5,000 to W. G.
Magruder of LaGrange, Georgia, in settlement of his claims against the
United States by reason of the death of his wife, Mrs. Eunice Russell
Magruder, who was killed when the automobile in which she was traveling
was involved in a collision with an Army truck-trailer on one of the
highways near LaGrange, Georgia, on or about January 24, 1945.
It appears that, on the date in question, an Army truck, with
trailer attached, operated by an enlisted man on official business,
was proceeding north on one of the highways in Georgia; that, at the
same time, a car, owned by A. W. Johnson and operated by his son in
which 5 persons, including Mrs. Magruder, were riding as passengers,
was proceeding in the opposite direction on the same highway; that the
two vehicles met at a point approaching a bridge, at which point the
highway was 20 feet wide and the bridge 17 feet 10 inches; that the Army
driver observed the headlights of the civilian vehicle about a quarter
of a mile away, but did not notice the bridge until he was about 100
feet from it; that the civilian vehicle entered the bridge first and was
approximately 2/3 of the way across it when the Army vehicle entered it;
that the Army truck was about 8 feet wide, and since the distance from
the center of the bridge to each side was 8 feet 11 inches, there would
have been only a clearance of 11 inches between the Army vehicle and the
right side of the bridge if the Army vehicle had been traveling up to
the center line of the bridge; and that the Army vehicle sideswiped the
left side of the civilian vehicle.
As a result of the accident, Mrs. Magruder, who was 46 years of
age at the time of the accident, sustained injuries from which she was
instantly killed. Burial expenses in the amount of $310 have been paid
by the War Department under authority of existing law.
A facsimile of the enrolled enactment has been referred to the War
Department, and its reply, interposing no objection to the approval of
the bill, is attached.
The Department points out that the accident was not caused by any
fault or negligence on the part of Mrs. Magruder or on the part of the
driver of the vehicle in which she was riding, but was caused by the
negligence of the Army driver in that after becoming aware of the nar-
rowness of the bridge and observing that the civilian vehicle had entered
thereon, he, nevertheless, drove his truck onto the bridge, apparently at
an excessive rate of speed and proceeded to cross the bridge with a part
of his truck to the left of the center line of the roadway.
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