New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1877-08-10
DETAILS OF THE ACCIDENT.
fnY rkLEGRAPH TO rnE TRLBuNE.l

LONG BRANCH, Aug. "a startling accident oc-
CURED this morning at the Oceanport draw, on the
New-Jersev Central Railroad, Long Branch DIVISION
which resulted in the destruction of train OF cars
the mangling of large number of passengers, ana
the probable death of several persons. The 40 It,
M train from New-York was passing over inc
bridge at a rapid rate Of speed, being two minutes
behind time when misplaced rail threw 1t rom
the track The locomotive ran along the uestle-
work for distance of fifty feet and was hnaly daseu
against the bank Of the river and shattered mo
a shapeless mass. The engineer jumped on aIteI
shutting off the steam. aud escaped with shshI III
iuries The tender, ,baggage-car, mai car anu
three Messenger coaches ran along the ties about
thirty feet and then tOppled over into the ShreWs
burg River. where they lay upon their sides. The
last car became detached from the rest of the tram
and came to standstill after running short dis
lance upon the trestle-work There was hcaVy
load of passengers upon the train.
The first iutmaton of trouble was heavy jar,
followed by succession of bumps as the cars jumped
fronrbeam to beam. and ending in the long leap INTO
the river, which threw the passengers III heap
against the windows. For a moment the consterha-
ton was extreme. Women shrieked and tainted
and men for an instant lost theirpresence OF nd as
the water came rushing in at the broken Wlhdo"s .
Luckily the water was only four feet deep aI'housh
the tide was high and did not come above the breasts
of the passengers. The men quickly regaine htI
presence of mind, and breaking the windows on the
upper side of the cars escaped. Help from the unn-
iured car was quickly at hand. and the wounded
and senseless women and children were oraWh
through the windows.
The appearance of the passengers, as they were
drawn ont of their uncomfortable quarters, was pitt
ful in the extreme. Hands and faces were cut ana
bleeding Clothing especially that of the women
was torn. In some cases the bodies were drawn out
almost nude. Those most seriously wounded were
taken Immediately in carriages and row-Doats 10
Oceanport Village. half mile distant, while others
were removed TO Long Branch ana ocean
Grove. The citizens of Oceanport were es'
pecially active in opening their doors 10 the
wounded. and physicians were teesrapHeu
for from Elizabeth, Long Branch and other places
Most of the wounds were found to be slight cuts or
commissions but a few were of more serious nature
Strangely enough no one was killed outright by the
accident. There were several young children upon
The train but they seemed TO suffer least OF any
body. One woman, who was badly injured, was
thrown upon the body of her infant hut the latter
dld not receive a scratch. One cause OF preseF-
ervation was the water, which too shallow to drown
anyone. was still deep enough to break the force OF
the fall.
There is no doult that had the water been deep
tbe slaughter would have been terrible IN extent
al do not believe said one Of the wounded, who
was witness Of the CONSERVATION, that a single
person would have escaped from our car II the wafer
had been over our heads" Careful investigation
shows only two names of those who will probably
d,e from their injuries. All sorts Of rumors have
been floating about Long Branch, which, when
traced. prove to have about as much foundation as
the one which first came here that forty ormore were
killed 1t is now reported here that four OF the VIC
fins have died at Ocean Grove, but not much cred
ence is given 10 the story. 1t is also affirmed That
man is dead somewhere IN Long Branch but he eau
not be found. There are two victims at Oceanport
who Will probably die before morning Mrs. Amanda
White of Rumsden. y. j., who Is suffering from con-
cussion of the brain at the Oceanport Hotel, and a
child of Mrs. L. c. Vermeulen of Philadelphia, who
received Commissions on the head and internal III
juries At Edwards farmhouse, Oceanport' are
many of the injured.