Buzz
The answer varies depending on how one defines a 'car.' In 1869, Irish scientist Mary Ward was riding in a steam-powered vehicle constructed by her cousins. As they navigated a bend in the road, Ward was ejected from her seat and fell directly in the path of the vehicle. One of the wheels rolled over her, breaking her neck and killing her instantly.
Ohio City, Ohio, claims to be the site of the first accident involving a gasoline-powered automobile, closer to what we recognize as a car today. In 1891, engineer James Lambert was driving one of his early gasoline-powered buggies when he encountered trouble. The buggy, with passenger James Swoveland, struck a tree root sticking out of the ground. Losing control, the vehicle swerved and collided with a hitching post. Both men sustained minor injuries.
The first recorded pedestrian death caused by a car occurred a few years later. In 1896, Bridget Driscoll stepped off a curb in London and was struck and killed by a gas-powered Anglo-French car driven by Arthur Edsall. Despite the car's top speed of only four miles per hour, neither Edsall nor Driscoll—who witnesses described as ‘bewildered’ and frozen by the sight of the vehicle—could avoid the crash. Edsall was arrested, but the death was deemed an accident, and he was not charged. The coroner who examined Driscoll’s body is famously quoted as saying he hoped ‘such a thing would never happen again.’ (That same year, a bicyclist was killed by an automobile in New York City.)
The first pedestrian fatality in the U.S. occurred on September 13, 1899 (not a Friday). According to reports from the time, Henry Bliss was either stepping off a New York City streetcar or assisting a woman when he was struck by an electrically-powered taxi. He succumbed to head and chest injuries the following morning.
The first recorded driver fatality from a collision (aside from Ward’s tragic ejection) took place in 1898. Englishman Henry Lindfield and his son were traveling from Brighton to London when Lindfield lost control of the car while descending a hill. They crashed through a fence, and Lindfield was thrown from the driver's seat before the car slammed into a tree, pinning his leg between them. His son, unharmed, ran to get help. Surgeons at the hospital decided to amputate his crushed leg below the knee. Despite the operation, Lindfield remained unconscious and passed away the next day.
One famous ‘first’ I have been unable to locate is the first collision between two automobiles, whether gasoline-powered or not. If anyone has any information or leads on this, feel free to share.
