The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1890-05-31
TERRIBLE ACCIDENT.
A Train Goes Through an Open
DraWbridge
WITH FEARFULLY FATAL RESULT
At Webster Street, oaiaand- The Number Of
Dead and Their Names-The Panic
Stricken Public.

SAN FRANCISCO, May S0.-One Of the most
horrible railway accidents ever known in Cali
fornia occurred at 40 o'clock this afternoon
when local train connecting at Oakland with
the ferry boats from San Francisco went
through the open draw bridge over San Antonio
creek at Webster street. Oakland. 4 yacht mad
just passed through the draw when the train
appeared, going in the direction OF Alameda.
The draw-bridge keeper endeavored to close
the-bridge but was too late, and the engine,
with the tender and first car, which
was filled with passengers, plunged into
the estuary. Engineer Sam Dunn and Fireman
O'Brien went down with the engine The
former. when he saw that the bridge did not
close. reversed the lever, but the momentum of
the engine was too great to be stopped in time.
The weight of the engine and first car broke
the couplings and left the other two cars of the
train standing on the track. The second car
ran about a third of the way across the bridge
and stopped but the jar was sufficient to break
open the front of the car and many of the pas
SengerS were thrown into the water. The first
car. which had fallen with the engine TO the
bottom OF the muddy esturay, soon rose and
such of the passengers as had escaped there
from were picked up by yachts and
small boats which gathered at the scene.
The train men and the rest of the passengers
went to aid the work of rescue and when q
wrecking train arrived from Oakland the car
was drawn into shallow water and small boats
began TO drag the creek for bodies. The top of
il was raised above the water and the work of
removing bodies commenced, thirteen being
taken out in quick succession. AT the morgue,
the bodies were laid out as soon as received to
await Identification and heart-rending scenes
were witnessed as friends came forward to
claim their dead.
The list of identified are as follows: Martin
Kelly, Oakland A F. Austin, San Francisco;
Miss Florence Austin, Mrs. Bryon O'COnnor,
San Francisco; j. b. Irwin, Oakland; b. K.
Robinson, San Francisco; Captain John Dwyer,
q nrQT I1nTt0 NIp nrnG Sor E~nu
w. Aud, (coloredl Honolulu; the two Misses
Kienon, San Francisco; Japanese boy, sup
posed to be Fl. Malerta. San Francisco. The
engineer and fireman both escaped. The ex-
perience of the passengers in the first coacn, as
related by those VINO fortunately escaped, were
horrifying in the extreme.
+. u. Finley, of San Francisco. said: II was
/ on the first seat facing the engine. Just as
we approached draw bridge il seemed to me
| that the draw was open and fearful accident
was inevitable just then a man leaped from
the engine INTO the water, and then came
crash. The horrible crushing of timbers
| and the swapping of heavy ironwork followed,
and at once Consideration prevailed in the car.
| me next thing l knew the car was
| in the water and [ found myself gropelng
| for the door, which I fortunately reached
when that end Of the car rose out of water, and
| quite number of people escaped in this man
| ner, principally women and children. The car
was about two-thirdS full when we left the
wharf, and L should Judge there were at least
twenty-five to thirty people III. There was q
fearful outcry when the car began to fill but this
was almost Immediately huShed in one long
final wall of dispare.''
George l. Hawley, of Oakland, said there were
about forty people, including children, in the
Lear.
Conductor Perath said the first car was q
combination. When the disaster occurred he
was i'll the rear car and had as much as he
could do for o few moments to attend to the
passengers in the car, some of whom were in a
state of frenzy. He then went forward and
locked down on the scene Of death. He noticed
at least half dozen men swim out but not
any women or children. He Is not sure
about the number Of people in the coach.
James Dunlap, the bridge tender had moth
ing to say further than that he had opened the
bridge for yacht and was Just closing IL when
the train came along. Several of the passen-
, gers who went down but were rescued, suS-
tanned painful injuries. The frame of the car
has been raised and the bed of the creek thor
oughly explored, and it is believed there are no
more bodies in the wreck. Conservative eSti-
mates this evening place the number of pc pie
on the car at about thirty, and 1t Is believed the
thirteen bodies recovered comprise the
list of dead Thousands of people
rushed to the scene Of the disaster
and the streets leading to the bridge are
crowded by hurrying men, women and children
The widest rumors of the extent of the loss Of
l. life were circulated and many people went
: across from San Francisco to look for friends
I When news OF the disaster reached Mountain
! View cemetery. where hundreds OF Oakland
people were decorating graves, panic wa:
: created. and men, women and children rushed
into the town, leaving all their floral tribute:
, behind them.
The engineer and fireman disappeared RICH
= after the accident and have not yet been found
: so that their views of the accident are not 90
! tainable The bridge tender tonight maintains
! that he had the red danger flag up. Trains ap
: proach the bridge around a curve and it is pos
, Sible that the engineer did not see the flag.