The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1882-01-10
DEATH IN A DITCH.
a Gratel bank 6avss in on -Four os
men-Ons,s Ininries PROBABLY fatal

l.
a tirntel Banlt caves in on -Four WEEK.
nlen-One's IRjnRies Probably Fatal.
Ever since work was commenced on the
ditch for the thifsy.iaeh wa.ermaia obsefy.
era have psophesisd that there would
some serious casualty result from the careless
manner in which the work w6sdone. When
. son otMr, Beck, the contractor, was buried
BY q eaviag. Ia Of the banks OF the ditch on
EoR street It was supposed that this would
serve ~ . warning, and that greater precau.
ton would be taken 70 prevent q recurrence
ofsuch an accident Instead Of this being
the case the most casual observer has been
able 10 see, since work was commenced last
week on Market street, that the sides OF the
repeated warnings have been uttered on all
hands.
Yesterday shortly after nine o'clock in the
forenoon the gravest apprehenSions were In
measure realized. A young man named
Sam Darrah, an employ Of Beck &Adams,
was working about joint Of the large pipe
In the ditch, when the banks gave way, aud
the gravel slid down upon him In q mass,
burying him above the hips, and bruising
and cutting him severely. He was removed
as quickly Is the nature OF his Imprisonment
rendered possible, and taken to his home In
East Wheeling
Scarcely had he left, however, when the
banks on both sides some feet above the
scene OF the first accident suddenly gave
way simultaneously, and buried three work.
men almostentirely. They were Pat Gerlghty,
OF North Wheeling, Marcus Meaheh and Ben
Ruggarber, two Germans Their fellow work,
men worked with desperation born OF sympa
thy. for their sHfefings but Il was neces
sarily some time before all were rescued
Ruggarber was. not seriously hurt, being
worst bruised about the hips and abdomen,
lie managed, with aid, TO walk to conye
nient store room, whence he was removed "a
his boarding house. Meaheh was not so for
tunate, but had to betaken from the place In
a conveyance. Gerlghty and he were bott
ghastly rs death when rescued.
DR.. Uhlrich was summoned by Gerighty'i
friends, and found him badly injured. HI
expressed the opinion last night that BIZ
patient was fatal hurt. There was q gasl
cut clear into the pelvic cavity, and som,
sand and gravel Is believed tohave penetrated
10 that cavity. He Is also gravely Injured In
ternally. The doctor expected peritonitis Il
develop by this morning, when death woult
be almost only aquestlon Of time.
DR.. Hupp attended Darrah, and regard
him as seriously, though not very danger
ously hurt The nature Of his injuries Il
such, though, that their exact extent can
not be reliably told till this morning.
DR.. JepSon was called In both the othe
cases. He found Ruggarber not dangerousl,
hurt Meaheh'S injuries are dangerous
though not necessarily fatal.
The whole affair Is sad, dad not the les
sad that It could have been avoided b,
tmore careful provision againstsuch accident
This was made after the event. The top o
the ditch was widened and props used o
several places These simple precautions ia
ken In the first place would mot only hav
prevented the accident, but kept things in
better shape generally where the work Is 90
ingon.