Samuel Parker Dickson (May 21, 1887 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

– May 30, 1911) was a race car

riding mechanic A riding mechanic was a mechanic that rode along with a race car during races, and who was tasked with maintaining, monitoring, and repairing the car during the race. The various duties included manually pumping oil and fuel, checking tire wear, ...

, and the first person to be killed in the

Indianapolis 500 The Indianapolis 500, formally known as the Indianapolis 500-Mile Race, and commonly called the Indy 500, is an annual automobile race held at Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS) in Speedway, Indiana, United States, an enclave suburb of Indi ...

. He was the son of writer Maxwell E. Dickson and Martha E. Dickson. Dickson was buried at

Rosehill Cemetery Rosehill Cemetery (founded 1859) is an American garden cemetery on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois, and at , is the largest cemetery in the City of Chicago. According to legend, the name "Rosehill" resulted from a City Clerk's error – the ar ...

Indianapolis 500

In the inaugural race, Dickson was the riding mechanic for

Arthur Greiner Arthur Greiner (April 28, 1884 – May 24, 1917) was an American racecar driver, and historically the first to finish last in the Indianapolis 500. Greiner crashed on the backstretch after completing twelve laps in the inaugural race. His rid ...

, who was making his only 500 appearance. On lap twelve, one of the front wheels came off of the

American Simplex Billed as "a motor-car symphony", the American Simplex was an American automobile manufactured in Mishawaka, Indiana, United States, from 1906 to 1915 by the Simplex Motor Car Company; the company shortened its product's name to Amplex in 1910 t ...

car Greiner was driving, causing Greiner to lose control and both men to be thrown from the car. Dickson flew into a fence twenty feet from the car. Reports state that Dickson was killed instantly, although the crowd evidently swarmed around the body, requiring the

state militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

who were acting as security at the event to use their guns as clubs to clear a path for the attending doctors.

References

1887 births 1911 deaths Riding mechanics Disasters in Indiana Sports deaths in Indiana Indianapolis 500 Burials at Rosehill Cemetery {{US-autoracing-bio-stub