The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1890-06-05
THR0 UGH THE BRIDGE.
TEERIE LIE RAILROAD ACCIDENT AT
SAN FRANCISCO.

twenty 11uS gSOpte Lose 1nelE Lives
Through an Engineers Carelessness-
An Open Drawbridge.
San q francisco (Cal.) dispatch: In a
frightful railroad accident twentY-nine
people have lost their lives. The local
train connecting at Oakland with the
ferrybo&ts from San Francisco ran
through an open drawbridge over San
Antonio Creek at Webster street, Oak
land. THE yacht Juanita had just
passed through the draw when the
train au peared, going in the direction
of Alan eda. The drawbridge keeper
endeavo red at once to close the bridge.
but it w as too late, and the engine with
the tend Ter and the first car, which was
filled w ith passengers, plunged into the
creek, which was here quite deep.
Engin Ger Sam Dunn, when he saw
that the bridge did not close, reversed
the lever, but the momentum of the en-
CINE was too great to allow him to stop
the train in time. The weight of the
engine and the first car broke the coup
lings and left the other two ears Of the
train standing on the track. The see
ond car ran about q third of the way
across the bridge and stopped, but the
lar 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 followed the
engine to the bottom Of the muddy eS-
tuary. Don rose. and such Of the passen-
gers as had escaped were picked up by
the yachts and small boats which gath
cred at the scene. The trainmen and
the rest of the passengers set to work to
help the rescuers, and when the wreck
ing train arrived from Oakland the car
was DRAWN into shallow water and small
boats began dragging the creek for the
bodies Of the victims.
The top of the passenger coach was
cut open as soon as it was raised above
the waiter and tho work Of removing the
bodies dommcnced ten being taken out
in Quick succession. Three women and
three girls were taken from the water
alive and removed to the receiving hos
pital. Another young lady died soon
after bding taken from the water.
The NEWS of the accident created in
tense Ell citement in Oakland and thOus-
ands of people flocked to the morgue and
to the scene Of the wreck. At the
morgue bodies were laid out as soon as
received to await Identification.
The body of e. p Robinson, which
was am ng these taken from the hole
cut in the roof of the car. was among
the first removed, and was taken charge
of by Coroner Evers. The bodies of six
men AND two women were brought in
soon after, some of the bodies being at
first left at the receiving hospital,
where the injured were also taken. In
a short time thirteen bodies lay on the
floor and on tho marble slabs of the
morgue awaiting Identification. and
heartrehdng scenes were witnessed as
friends came forward to claim their
dead. The list Of the identified is as
follows
MART IN KELLY. Oakland, AssistantChief
WharfnE ger fol the State.
A. H. AUSTIN of Austin & Phelps, San
Francisco
MISS FLORENCE AUSTIN.
MRS. BRYAN O'CONNOR, widow of the de-
ceased member of the firm of O'ConnOr MOf-
fatt & Co.. San Francisco.
j. r. IRWIN, sewing machine agent, Oak
land.
F. r. ROBINSON. San Francisco.
LUIGI MALTESTA, San Francisco.
Capt JOHN DIVER, Sacramento.
MR. w ILLIAMS, San Francisco.
II. w. AULD (cOlOred). Honolulu.
The t. go MISSES HERMAN, San Fran
II. MA LTERA San Francisco.
The Experience Of the passengers in
the first coach, as related by those who
fortuna eIy escaped, was horrible in the
extreme. f. T. Finley, of San Fran
cisco, pne of the passengers. told q
graphic story of the disaster. owe
left the city," he said, con the
1926 train for Alameda on the narrow
guage. ] was seated on the front seat
of the first car, facing the engine. All
went W ell until just as we approached
the dr4 wbridge crossing San Antonio
creek AS we drew near to the
bridge 1t seemed to me the draw was
open and that fearful accident was
inevitable Just then a man jumped
from the engine into the water, and
then came crash. A horrible crush
ing of timber and swapping of heavy.
iron-wdrk followed, and at once con-
sternatton prevailed in the car The
next tn Ing l knew [ found myself blindly
cropping for the door, which l fortu-.
nately found and opened. When /;
found myself on the platform gradually
worked nay way by climbing and hold:
ing on to the front of the car to the
roof, wi ich I had just reached when
that end of the car rose out of
the water, and quite anumber of peOplei
escaped in this manner, principally
women and children. The car was about
two-thirds full when we left the wharf,
and l should judge there were at least
fifty pc bple in it. There was a fearful
cutlery when the car began to fill, but
this wa almost Immediately hushed in
one lon final wall of despair"
James Dunlap, who was tending the
bridge ut the time of the accident, said:
81 was IN charge at the time
and had just opened the draw to
to allow the yacht Juanita to pass
through was in the act of moving
the dra Nv back into place when the up
train fl dom San Francisco came along.
That is all know about it," He de-
clined to answer the question if it was
not rather unusual to open the draw
just at the hour when the train was due.
The water over which the bridge is
built is all estuary OF San Francisco bay.
A strong current runs in the stream,
which at the point Of the accident is
about 3bO feet wide and twenty feet deep.
A passenger train crosses the bridge
every half hour during the day and
when the bridge is open the keeper is
supposed to signal by holsTlng red
mi u