The accident

February 11, 1911, the taxi John Carrere was riding in was rammed by a trolley car in the intersection of Madison Avenue and 74th St. Here is the scene as it appears in The Library Book:

A patrolman stood at the intersection of Madison Avenue and 74^th. A trolley from uptown entered the intersection. The black Studebaker taxi, with driver and single occupant did too, but the trolley didn’t slow down. There was a huge, jarring crash — the trolley and the taxi collided! The policeman jumped back. Glass shattered and fell to the pavement. Carrère was ejected from the back of the taxi, landing on the pavement with a sickening thud, his head snapping back and hitting the curb. Barber jumped with fright, shock, and urgency and ran as fast as he could toward the scene, slipping and nearly falling on an icy patch. 

At the time of the accident, the New York Public Library building on Fifth Avenue was nearly finished. Carrere's wife and children were in Europe. Carrere had had dinner and cocktails with his friend, the architect Donn Barber, and was on his way home in a taxi. 

Carrere never recovered from his injuries, and passed away just a few weeks later, March 1, 1911. His bust is in the right-hand stair in the foyer of the New York Public Library.