Mr. Hubert. What was the fact, the controlling factor insofar as time was concerned?
Chief Batchelor. When the homicide bureau finished their interrogation of Oswald that morning.
Mr. Hubert. So then when you first talked to Fleming, he was not able to tell you whether he could get it?
Chief Batchelor. Well, he said he thought he could, but he was going to have to call his people and get some drivers down there, because they were closed up on Sunday, and he said, “As soon as I get hold of them, I will call you.”
He called me twice. He called me back later and said he had the drivers and he had two trucks, one a large Overland truck which would accommodate people sitting on each side of the truck on benches, and one a smaller truck.
He recommended the larger truck because the smaller truck would only accommodate one person in the back, and of course there would be need for guards.
So then the question arose as to whether or not this truck could be backed into the basement in front of the door leading out of the jail, because there is a low point in the ramp at that point.
So he asked me if I would check and see how high that was. And I checked with Chief Lumpkin, and he told me that it was 7′5″. This was not tall enough to accommodate the truck.
Mr. Hubert. Then what happened?
Chief Batchelor. Then I called Mr. Fleming and told him the height and suggested that we would back the truck in on Commerce Street and not take it clear to the bottom.