55 Santa Fe boys signed up to compete in the official 1952 Soap Box Derby, sponsored by the New Mexican, Santa Fe Motor Company – which provided all the special soap box derby wheels, and the Optimist Club, with Orlando Fernandez as president.
Without listing every single racer, here’s just a few for us old-timers:
Donald Gonzales from Don Cubero St, Eddie Ray Scarafiotti, 343 W. Manhattan, James VanderSys from Camino Alire, Johnnie Kirk and Joe Carrier, both from Allendale Street. There were the Brennand brothers, David and Dan, from Zia Road, Jimmie J. Martinez, 1610 Young St., Edward Ortiz, 319 W. Gomez and Clarence Lithgow from Griffin Street. And dozens more.
And one of them was a killer.
It wasn’t Alfred Gonzales, the 12 yr old driver of car no. 34, sponsored by Johnnie’s Nite Club. But doesn’t it strike you as strange that a night club would sponsor a car in the soap box derby? I only mention Alfred because he was the eventual winner of the 1952 derby, winning a trip to Akron, Ohio for the finals. Alfred was the son of Mr. And Mrs. Manuel A. Martinez, 1601 Jay Street. It was the six-grader’s first race.
So who or what killed Elizabeth Riley?
Mrs. Riley, 85, was visiting friends in Santa Fe just in time to attend the Annual Soap Box Derby of 1952. Standing on the sidewalk of Marcy Street with her friends, Mrs. Riley watched several home-made racers go by. Suddenly, one racer – mever identified – swerved out of control, hit the curb and flew off the track, striking Mrs. Elizabeth Riley. She suffered a broken leg and was immediately hospitalized. Mrs. Riley seemed to be getting well but soon complications of a broken leg and old age set in and she died, after lingering for about three weeks in St. Vincent Hospital, under the care of Dr. Bergere Kenney. Her remains were returned to California for burial.
This is a true story, the story of the only fatality ever claimed in a Santa Fe Soap Box Derby.
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