Kurt Frederick Ludwig - An Accident in Times Square

An Accident in Times Square

On the night of March 18, 1941, two men were reportedly arguing about the proper way to cross an intersection in a busy section of Times Square in New York when one of them, a middle-aged man wearing horn-rimmed spectacles and carrying a brown briefcase, foolishly made the attempt to cross the street against a traffic light.

Meanwhile, Sam Lichtman, a cabdriver from southern Brooklyn was driving up 7th Ave. near 45th St. when suddenly a man darted in front of his cab. Despite his attempt to prevent a collision, the man was run down and fatally thrown under the wheels of another car. His companion ran into the street after him, grabbed the briefcase that fell near his body and fled from the scene.

The fatally injured man was identified as a courier for the Spanish Consulate, Don Julio Lopez Lido. His body was unclaimed for a time but the Spanish Consulate in New York finally buried him. His companion, who ran from the scene, called the dead man's hotel and asked for them to hold the man's room until further notice. In the meantime, the hotel management had informed the local authorities, and they began to investigate the mysterious circumstances behind the accident.