Officer William F Wilson

End of Watch : February 6, 1923

OFFICER WILLIAM F. WILSON
St. Paul PD
Died February 6, 1923

At 5:00 a.m. on February 6th, Officers Edwin Earl Hackert and William F. Wilson left the scene of an automobile accident at the fairgrounds on Snelling Avenue at a high rate of speed. The wheels of the car were apparently in the streetcar ruts, although at Minnehaha Street, one block north of the accident, tracks showed the tires were out of the ruts for a while at least. As the officers tried to get back into the tracks, the front wheels jammed and the front wheel hit an iron signpost as they crossed VanBuren. The vehicle crashed into the Hamline Millinery Shop at Snelling and VanBuren Streets. The force of the crash knocked the studding out from under the front of the building and a shower of bricks and an iron beam fell on the officers. Wilson and Hackert, who were in the front seat, were killed instantly. The two officers in the back seat, Arthur Haessig and William Kostohryz, were buried in the debris, but were rescued two hours later. They suffered minor injuries. Two people sleeping in the building, Mr. and Mrs. W.W. Throckmorton, were bruised on the head and shoulders by falling bricks as their bed fell down with the bricks and dust and hit the car. There were others in the building, but they were not hurt.

Officer Wilson was 40 years old. He was a police chauffeur and had been with the department since October 14th, 1914. His wife, Elizabeth, survived him. His funeral was on February 9th at his hom at 155 Aurora Avenue. He was buried in Oakland Cemetery.

Sourced from: The book "We Will Remember"
With permission from Lisa Lovering, Author and Board of Director
MN Law Enforcement Memorial Association
L.E.M.A. 2009

Rudolph Maurer

John Francis McDermott