Lillian N. Lorentzen, c. late 1920's
Lillian N. Lorentzen (1909 - October 23, 1931) was an employee at the Hartford Fire Insurance Company and a graduate of Hall High School in West Hartford, Connecticut. In 1931, she was killed by a drunk driver. The death of Lorentzen was the first automobile fatality in West Hartford in a year, the last of which occurred on October 11, 1930.
Life and Death[]
Lillian N. Lorentzen was born in 1909 as the eldest daughter of Thomas E. Lorentzen, Sr. and Julia Schug. She graduated from Hall High School in 1927, where her father was a janitor at the school. After graduation, she began work at the Hartford Fire Insurance Company.
On October 23, 1931, Lorentzen was on the trolley with her younger sister, Gertrude M. Lorentzen, a secretary at Morley School in West Hartford. When it arrived on Farmington Avenue at Trout Brook, she got off after her sister. Her father, Thomas, was across the street. When she crossed the road, she was struck by a loaded five-ton truck owned by Crowe & Company of Waterbury, Connecticut, and operated by Edmund D. Armstrong, who was 32 years old at the time. Under the influence of alcohol, he continued on the road after hitting Lorentzen and was pursued by West Hartford Police at a high rate of speed towards West Hartford Center. The police officer that gave chase overtook Armstrong in front of the Central Theater, about one-eighth of a mile from the scene of the accident.
Meanwhile, Thomas Lorentzen staggered over to her in the road, unnerved in discovering that it was his eldest daughter. Lorentzen died on the way to St. Francis Hospital. Armstrong, on the other hand, was charged with criminal negligence and placed under a bond of $7,500 for appearance in court. Neighbors and officials administered to the needs of the family after their loss.