These were:
First, that the car was black. It was described so by witnesses.
Second, that it was an Oldsmobile, either a coupe or a coach.
Third, that there was a yellowish-green stripe around the body.
Fourth, that the right headlight was broken or missing. Pieces of a headlight lens were picked up at the scene of the accident. From the fact that witnesses said the right side of the car struck the women, the police assumed that it was the right headlight that was broken.
Fifth, that the right fender probably was dented.
Under a general order issued by Acting Night Chief of Police Paul Shultz, every beat patrolman and all officers in police automobiles began a city-wide search for a car of that description.
As part of this general search, Sergt. Michael Flavin and Patrolmen George Loesche and George Schlueter began a check of all cars in the vicinity of the accident, which occurred on Schlueter's beat and in the precinct patrolled by Flavin and Loesche.
For five hours and twenty minutes they searched, on the slimmest of chances that the driver lived in the vicinity. Much to their surprise, they finally found the car in the backyard of a rooming house at 4956 Page boulevard, only two and a half blocks from the scene of the accident.
The owner, Olas Sanders, 25-year-old automobile salesman and a lodger at the rooming house, was arrested. he admitted, the police say, that he was the driver of the car that struck the women, but he insisted that the accident was unavoidable.
Booked as "suspected of manslaughter, felonious wounding, leaving the scene of an accident and careless driving," Sanders, who is unmarried, is held at the Deer street station pending the outcome of the coroner's inquest.
Her companion and neighbor, Mrs. Anna Fleishman, 60 years old, of 1212 Walton avenue, is in the hospital with a probable skull fracture, broken nose and fractured left leg.
The women were crossing Page boulevard just west of the pedestrian crossing at Marcus avenue at 8:40 p.m. when they were struck by the car, which was westbound. The driving, failing to stop, was pursued by anothe motorist to Euclid and Easton avenue, where the fleeing machine disappeared in heavy traffic.
Flavin, Loesche and Schlueter, after a twenty-five minute investigation, obtained a description of the car from witnesses, picked up the pieces of headlight lens and held them as evidence.
One piece bore the letters "B. E." which was the maker's trademark. Checking every automobile in the vicinity, the three officers finally found the car for which they were searching.
The right headlight was missing and the pieces of glass found at the scene of the accident, when pieced together, fitted into the rim. The other headlight bore the letters "B. E." and the right fender was dented.
At first he said that his brother had had an accident with the car in St. Louis County. However, when the officers showed him how the pieces of broken headlight lens fitted into the rim, he admitted, the police say, that he was the driver whose car struck the women.
According to Acting Lieut. Michael Callahan, Sanders said that he was driving only about thirty miles an hour when the women suddenly appeared in front of his car. He declared that he did not have time to stop.
Asked why he drove on after the accident, the police said he told them:
"I got excited and lost my head. I drove on home, parked my car and then went to bed. But I couldn't sleep. I finally decided to surrender, but I went to the restaurant first to get something to eat, thinking it would settle my nerves."
The two women were out for a walk at the time of the accident. Mrs. Dumas[sic] came here three weeks ago from Minneapolis[sic] where she had been living with a married daughter. She has three other daughters and four sons, all of whom live out of town.
[an error occurred while processing this directive]