Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1890-06-05
THROUGH THE BRIDGE.
TEnRIBLE RAILROAD ACCIDENT AT
SAN FRANCISCO.

An Open Drawbridge.
San Francisco (Cal.) dispatch: In q
frightful railroad accident twcntY-n inc
people have lost their lives. TEe local
train connecting at Oakland with the
ferryboats 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 appeared. going In the direction
OF Alameda. The drawbridge keeper
endeavored at once to close the bridge.
but 1t was too late, and the engine with
the tender and the first car, which was
filed with passengers, plunged into the
creek, which was here quite deep.
Engineer Sam Dunn, when he saw
that the bridge did not close, reversed
the lever, but the momentum OF the en-
gine was too great TO allow him to stop
the train in time. The weight of the
engine and tho first car broke the coup
lings and left the other two cars OF the
train standing on the track. The Sec
ond car ran about third OF the way
across the bridge and stopped. but the
Jar was sufficient to break open the
front OF tho 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, soon rose. and such Of the passen-
gers rs 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 tho 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 IL was raised above
the water and tho work of removing the
bodies commenced, ten being taken out
in quick succession. Three women and
three girls were taken from the water
alive and removed to tho receiving hos
pital. Another young lady died soon
after being taken from the water.
The news OF the accident created In
tense excitement in Oakland and thous-
ands Of people 1ocked to the morgue and
to the scene OF the wreck. At the
morgue bodies werc laid out as soon as
received to await Identification.
The body OF +. p. Robinson, which
was among these taken from the hole
cut in the roof OF the car, was among
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
heartrending scenes were witnessed as
friands panla fnr1ua ri t@a--eisi.-. %iseir
dead. The list of tho identified is as
follows:
MARTIN KELLY. Oakland, ,AssistantChief
Wharfnger for the State.
A. ii. AUSTIN of Austin & Phelps, San
Francisco.
MISS FLORENCE AUSTIN.
MRS. BRYAN OCONNOR,widow OF the de-
ceased member OF the firm of O'Connor Mof-
fatt & Co., San Francisco.
J. II. IRWIN, sewing machine agent, Oak
land.
ER. ROBINSON. San Francisco.
LUIGI MALTESTA, San Francisco
Capt. JOHN DWYER Sacramento
MIR. WILLIAMS San Francisco
II. w. AULD (colored) Honolulu.
The two MISSES HERMAN, San Fran
cisco.
H. MALTERA: SAN Francisco.
The experience OF the passengers In
tho first coach, as related by those who
fortunately escaped, was horrible in the
extreme. f. +. Finley, Of San Fran
cisco, one of the passengers. told a
graphic story of the disaster. "We
left tho city," he said, ''on the
1:25 train for Alameda on the narrow
guage. was seated on the front seat
of the first car, facing the engine. All
went well until just as we approached
the drawbridge crossing San Antonio
creek. AS we drew near to the
bridge it seemed to me the draw was
open and that fearful accident was
inevitable. Just then man jumped
from the engine into the water, and
then came crash. A horrible crush
ing Of timber and swapping of heavy
iron-work followed, aud at once con-
sternation prevailed In the car. The
next thing knew found myself blindly
cropping for the door, which / fortu-
nately found and opened. When l
found myself on the platform gradually
worked nay way by climbing and hold.
ing on to the front Of the car to the
roof, which had just reached when
that end OF the car rose out OF
the water, and quite anumbcr OF people
escaped in this manner, principally
women and children. The car was about
two-thlrds full when we left the wharf,
and should judge there were at least
fifty people In it. There was fearful
outcry when the car began 10 fill, but
this was almost Immediately hushed in
one long final wall of despair"
James Dunlap, who was tending tho
bridge at 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 draw back into place when the up
train from San Francisco came along.
That is all know about it," He de-
clined to answer the question II 1t 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 an estuary OF San Francisco bay.
A strong current runs in the stream,
which at the point of the accident is
about 800 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 hoisting red
flag. Tho bridgetender says the
danger flag was properly set In the cen
ter OF the track when the bridge was
opened for the yacht Juanita TO pass
IL is known that the engineer and
fireman both escaped. II seems proba-
BILE that the terrible accident was due TO
the carelessness Of the engineer.
IL is now know that there were forty
eight people in the car that went down.