THE FLAGLER TRIBUNE
Bunnell, Florida
Thursday, July 13, 1939

 

Death, unannounced opponent, entered the list of probable candidates in the 1940 gubernatorial race this week, and without a vote being cast, defeated the man whose name was one of the most in the precampaign estimates. W. McL. Christie, prominent Jacksonville legislator was drowned Sunday night when his car skidded from a bridge on the Lake Wilson road near Kissimmee, turned over and trapped him in four feet of water.

Christie had been on a weekend fishing trip with G. Pierce Wood, speaker of the house of the 1939 legislature, at the camp of W. T. Steed, Kissimmee attorney. When Wood decided to remain overnight .at the camp, Christie started the return trip to Jacksonville alone. From evidences at the scene of the accident, it was plain that his automobile skidded as it left the end of the bridge, knocked down a telephone pole and overturned in the water.

The accident was discovered by Walter Bronson, He immediately called an ambulance, and assisted the driver in removing Christie's body from the upside-down car. Identification was made from papers on the body.

Christie, a powerful and fluent speaker, was a former speaker of the house, and chairman of the rules committee in the 1939 legislature, While he had not formally announced, he was considered the leading contender in the race for the governorship.