Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1890-06-07
A PLUNGE TO DEATH.

Frightful Catastrophe at Oakland, Call
Portion of Train Drops Through an
Open Drawbridge to the Creek Below
Twenty Corpses Recovered from the
Wreck and Many Persons Missing-Crim-
inal Carelessness of the Bridge Tender.
OAKLAND, Cal, May 31.-The care
lessness of bridge keeper on the mar
row gauge road Friday led to the fatal
plunge of an engine and one car into
creek and a terrible loss of life. Twen-
ty bodies have been recovered and many
more are missing. The narrow gauge
train connected with the 1:45 train for
San Francisco and in the three cars
were about $50 people. AS the train
neared the Webster street dra wbridge,
the passengers who looked out of the
window were amazed to see tho the draw
open. The train came around the sharp
curve at high speed before the engineer
could materially slacken speed. The
yacht Juniata had just passed through
and the bridge keeper had made a des-
perate effort to close the draw, but
without success Luckily the weight
of the engine and first coach broke the
train in two and the rest of it was saved.
The engineer was Sam Dunn, the fire.
man Charles O'Brien, and the con-
ductor Ed. Rerath. OF this trio, Re-
rath escaped through being in the hind
part of the train. 1t is rumored that
Dunn and O'Brien jumped and swan to
safety, but it is not believed, as neither
has yet been seen. When the coach
went through it went completely under
water, but a number of passengers
crawled thro ugh the windows and es-
capped. The majority of passengers in
the coach were women and children.
From the broken half of the train the
passengersswarmed out-women shriek-
ing and men half frantic-al though
there was no occasion for their fears, as
the car was securely wedged in by the
woodwork at the approach to the
bridge.
The car which had followed the engine
to the bottom of the muddy estuary soon
rose and such of the passengers as had
escaped therefrom were picked up by
yachts and small boats which gathered
at the scene. When those were all
picked up the boats gathered about the
car, whore thirty or forty women and
children lay suffocating beneath the
water. They could do little or nothing,
as it took several minutes to tear open
the roof of the coach. The top of the
coach was finally cut open and the work
of removing the bodies commenced, ten
being taken out in quick succession.
Conductor Rerath was seen directly
after the accident and said in all proba-
bility twenty-five women and children
had perished. Three women and three
girls were taken from the water alive
and removed to the hospital. Another
young lady died soon after being taken
from the water.
News of the accident created in
tense excitement in Oakland and
thousands of people flocked to the
morgue and to the scene of the wreck.
The body of e. r. Robinson, which was
among those taken from the hole cut in
the roof of the car, was among the first
removed. the bodies of six men and
two women were brought in soon after,
some of the bodies at first being left at
the receiving hospital, whore the in
jured were also taken. In short time
thirteen bodies lay on the floor and on
marble slabs awaiting Identification.