New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1888-02-15
CRUSHED BY TONS OF IRON.
FATAL DISASTER ON A BROOKLYN ELE-
WAITED ROAD.
HOSTING DERRICK AND GIRDERs FALL UPON A
STREET C,R-FoUR MEN KILLED. NINE PER-
SONS NDED-CoNTRACToRs CHARGED
VIII LILLE REsPnNsIRII IIY-GIKpERs

HOSTING DERRICK AND GIRDERs FALL UPON
STREET C,R-FoUR MEN KILLED, NINE PER-
SONS WOUNDED CONTRACTORS CHARGED
WITH THE ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
INsEcURELY FASTENED.
The frightful accident which has been feared
since the work Of pushing the construction OF the
Union Elevated Reroad in Brooklyn has becn
pushed with great rapidity and by novel en-
gineering methods occurred yesterday in Brook
lyn, on the line of the Union road running from
Lexingon-avc. to the East River ferries.
huge steam derrick fell with the longitudinal
girders beneath it and crashed into a car of the
Broadway and Reid Avenue line, causing the death
OF three persons and severely. if not fatally, in
jurng nine more.
The accident is similar TO the one which oc
CURED on the Flatbu,h Avenue branch of the
same road few weeks ago, but in that case a
streetcar made narrow escape and none of the
wor<men was hurt. But in this case all the
possibilities Of d ath and disaster realized.
The accident occurred in Broadway, between
Lewis and Sumner aves.: and opposite Fayctte-
STA lew minutes before 10 o'clock John Schaeffer,
foreman Of the force Of twelve men employed on
the derrick, prepared to move it forward from one
section TO the next one, which had just been put
up, opposite No. $40 Broadway. The derrick was
huge wooden structure, weighing six tons and
moving on broad wheels which rolled on the top
OF the longitudinal girders. AS the heavy ma
chine, loaded with upright engine and the
machinery used in the work. moved forward, the
whole structure began to sway and trcmble in a
dangerous manner. Suddenly the four girders
gave way beneath the derrick and weight of
fully twenty tons, with dozen men upon 1t,
crushed into the busy street below, falling the
roof OF car, which WIS crushed in like an egg
inst tYfl lpI
with two OF the men the elevated structure
1t Tell. In the car were dozen passengers. all or
them more or less injured scene Of intense
excitement was created in the vicinity and hun
dreds of people gathered TO do what they could
or silently look the ruin and death that had
been wrought. Hiemen, policemen and ambulance
surgeons were soon at work and the wounded were
speedily cared for. while the dead bodies were
tricated from the ruins.
THE STREET CAR DELAYED BY A BALKY HOUSE.
The car caught in the crash No. III, on
its way from the ferry Another had just passed
the spot on its way downtown. But No III
had been delayed by ballSy horse attached to a
WAGON belonging to Louis Bossert, proprietor OF
moulding mill 1t was frightened by the escape
OF steam from the engine on the derrick and re-
fused to move. The car stopped behind the
waeon directly underneath the derrick. The
driver Of the horse was nj his head trying 10
make him move end the car driver, named Thomas
1homp' on. had teen assisting him. 1homI son had
just returned to the car platform, where pass
eneer named Matthew Minden was smoking when
they heard shout and cry of: There she
gocs!" Thomson srrang Off side OF the plat
form and Mnden from the other: but only the
latt"r escared. Civil Jus'iceelcct John Peterson
end the conductor, named Recke,ton, were on the
platform an1 sprlng of. or the passengers
within the c2r Miss Mary YounD who had just got
on 'hc car when j. stopped, hut had returned for
the most seriously injured.
The immense weight of the girdcrs and derrick
md tho escaping steam and Goals from the
engine made the work OF exploring the ruins
difficult. The wounded PERSONS NIL easily
eytri"atod and as no sound could be heard from
she hrrlt"n ,mbcrs and fragments of tn" car it
was believed that those buried out Of sight
all dead The fremon set az work with axes and
soon cut and tore away the broken tmbcrs. The
first dead body that found WAS that Of Charles
Kirchner one cf the employees Of the contractors
who were putting up the structure. The body Of
ThOmrsOn the car-dr yer. was found with the
head severed from thc hodv. and the latter
crushed into an almost indiStingushable mass
The remains had to hH carried away in n bag.
His brother Henry Thompson. fant"d when he
saw the body. Thomson was an extra" man
omrloycd by the Broadway Railroad Company.
ard he had taken the place of reCuar driver.
Charles McAulev who decided to take q dav off
after reporting for work at the stables Yesterday
morning lie was congratuating himself on his
narrow cscape last evening. The third bodv taken
from the wr"clyagr that Of Patrick Clark
workman emrlovod the derrick. who was
two car horses killed. a horse attached to
butchers cart belonging TO Frederick Fink was
50 badly injured that II bad to bH killed The
strcct-car was smashed so that hardly piece two
feet long remained. 1t took nearly three hours to
clear the ruins from tn" track so ms to permit
travel to be resumed along Broadway. In the
meantime the strcetcarS on the various lines
using the track were switched into Sumner and
Myrtle aves, and went around the blockaded pOr-
ton.
list OF THE KILLED AND WOUNDED