When was the first auto accident?

Arguably, the first auto accident was in 1771 when Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot is said to have driven his steam-powered car into a wall. However, others claim it didn't happen.

Another accident involving a steam-powered car occurred in Ireland in 1869. Mary Ward was thrown from the vehicle and then run over making her the first fatality from an auto accident.

The first auto accident in the U.S. is recorded as having occurred in Ohio in 1891. John William Lambert's single-cylinder car hit a tree root causing him to lose control. He then ran into a hitching post.

Bridget Driscoll was the first person recorded to have died in an auto accident involving a gasoline-powered car. The accident occurred in 1896 in the United Kingdom. She was also the first pedestrian killed by an automobile.

In 1899, Henry Bliss was the first person killed by an auto accident in America.

On a cheerier note, we'll next discuss the history of auto racing.

(The resource for these events is Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_road_accidents)