Jane Bogue, a senior at the University of Washington, was fortunate to escape with her life from an accident at the corner of 11th Ave NE and Shelby St, September 24, 1930. Miss Bogue was driving alone, travelling north down Capitol Hill from her home with her parents at 22nd and Aloha on her way to the Alpha Phi sorority house at the university. After driving for a time northbound on Federal Ave, she proceeded over to 11th Ave E and was heading down the hill. As she approached the “T” intersection where 11th Ave comes to an end at Shelby Street, she lost control of the large sedan due to her inability to slow the vehicle down.
After losing control, she careened through the intersection and across Shelby. The auto was vaulted over the curb before it careened through a narrow hedgerow between two houses on the north side of the end of 11th Avenue. Perhaps she was fortunate to not smash head on into one of the structures, but her troubles were however just beginning. After plowing through the hedges, the car then plunged headlong over an embankment behind the houses that dropped an estimated 20 feet or more.
The heavy sedan landed on its nose at the base of the drop where it remained for a moment before rolling over dramatically onto its roof. The impact as it struck the bottom of the embankment threw Miss Bogue from behind the wheel to the passenger side of the car. Being tossed out of the driver's seat, despite the injuries she did sustain, likely saved her life. As the car rolled over onto its top, it came to rest on the trunk of a tree. The damaged trunk dramatically had pierced through the roof and the wrecked auto like a huge spear directly through the driver’s seat. Miss Bogue was injured seriously and was trapped under the wreckage for a time but was extremely fortunate to not have been brutally killed, impaled on the broken tree trunk. She was rescued and extracted from the wreckage and promptly sent to Swedish hospital to be treated for painful lacerations and bruising. She was successfully treated and released.
Miss Bogue stated the cause of the crash and her inability to properly brake the sedan was due the high heeled shoes she was wearing. The reporting on the crash did not specify the make of the vehicle. While some sedans in 1930 were equipped with lap belts, they were seldom used. Not being strapped into the driver’s seat was actually a “life saver” for her that September day.
Jane Bogue served honorably in the United States Navy as a WAVES officer in World War II. She was the very first woman from the five Northwest states appointed to the WAVES after Congress passed a bill establishing it in July 1942. After the war she returned to Seattle with her husband Ainsworth Blogg. Later in life, she was passionate about horticulture and had a special interest in Bonsai trees.
Jane Bogue Blogg died in Seattle in 1998.
