The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-06-04
A PLUNGE TO DEATH.


Frightful Catastrophe at Oakland, CAL
Portion OF Train Drops Through an
Open Drawbridge to the Creek Below
Twenty Corpses Recovered from the
Wreck and Many Persons Mlssing-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 q
creek and terrible loss Of life Twen-
ty bodies have been recovered and many
more are missing. Tho narrow gauge
train connected with the las 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 the 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-
pcrate effort to close the draw, but
without success. Luckily the weight
OF the engine and first coach broke the
train in two and tho restoi 1t was saved.
The engineer was Sam Dunn, the fire.
man Charles 0'Brien, and the con-
ductor Ed. Rerath. or this trio. Re-
rath escaped through being in the hind
part OF the train. II Is rumored that
Dunn and 0'Brien jumped and swan to
safety, but it is not believed, as neither
has yet been seen. When the coach
went through 1t went completely under
water, but number Of passengers
crawled through 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 Shrek
ing and men half frantio-al though
there was no occasion for their fears, as
the car was securely wedgsd 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 we're 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 II took several minutes 70 tear open
the roof Of the coach. The top OF the
coach was finally cut open and the work
Of removing the bodies commenced, ton
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 10 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 hocked 10 the
morgue and 70 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 tho Hrst
removed. The bodies Of six men and
two women we're brought in soon after,
some OF the bodies at first being left at
tho receiving hospital, whore the In
jured were also taken. In O short time
thirteen bodies lay on the floor and on
marble slabs awaiting Identification