The News-Herald. [volume] (Hillsboro, Highland Co., Ohio) 1886-1973, 1893-08-31


Lone ISLAND Cry, Aug. 2s.-An ac-
cident that cost the lives of fourteen
people, occurred shortly after midnight
Sunday morning in the little village of
Berlin, near Calvary cemetery, in the
town of Newton. The Long Island
railroad train that left Manhattan
Beach HOO o'clock was overtaken by
the train that left Rockaway Beach
fifteen minutes earlier. In the fright
full collision that ensued the two rear
cars of the five that made up the Man
haitian Beach train were demolished
and the middle car was overturned.
Hardly one of the scores of passengers
aboard these three cars escaped unhurt.
After the accident happened it was
over an hour before the news of it
reached any outside point. 1t came by
messenger, who walked into Long
Island City. The railroad company
Immediately dispatched a relief train
with all the physicians in the city.
They found an appalling state Of af-
fairs. The Manhattan Beach train had
been standing in the block to allow OF
another train ahead getting at safe
distance. The Rockaway Beach train
came dashing along behind, ran into
the same block and crashed into the
Manhattan Beach train. Both were
crowded with excursionists, and both
were the last trains from their respec-
tive resorts.
There were five cars in the Manhat-
tan Beach train, all of them open cars.
The Rockaway train plunged in and
plowed it's way completely through the
two rear cars and partly wrecked the
third.
Passengers in the three cars were
manned and mangled horribly, and
their shrieks of terror and pain were
awful.
The Rockaway engine was wrecked.
Its smokestack was carried away, and
it's huge boiler resembled pin-cushion
from the timbers of the wrecked cars
sticking into it. Upon these timbers
were human beings impaled, some dead,
and others gasping their last. High
up on the top lay the dead body of a
man, yet unidentified. Upon one Of
the timbers was impaled the body of
Mrs. Oscar Dieter. Upon another was
the body of Sidney Weinstein.
The scene was indescribably horrible.
The dead and wounded were massed
among the wreckage, besides upon
and beyond the tracks. Everything
was bespattered with blood Of the dead
and wounded, and the cries of the lat
ter rose above the kissing of steam and
the calls of the frantic trainmen. AS fast
as the wounded could be taken from the
wreck they were carried to the relief
train and cared for,
The doctors on board worked swiftly
| but we'll, while other medical men were
out in the wreck applying restoratives
| and making hurried dressing of wounds
| to sustain the sufferers until they could
| be put in the relief train for more care
| full treatment.
Haberman's tin factory stands close
| to the tracks at the scene of the acci-
dent. This was thrown open and some
of the dead and injured were carried in
there. One of the physicians was sta
toned here to receive them as they
were brought in. When all the wound
ed had been placed on the relief train
it started for Long Island City, where
it was met by the only ambulance
which ST. Johns hospital owns. Two
of the injured were placed therein and
hurried to the hospital, and then the
ambulance returned for more. Mean
while express wagons, horse carts,
coaches and vehicles of every sort were
pressed into service to get the wounded
to the hospital quickly.
Seventeen of them were taken to the
hospital in all, of whom two died upon
the way, Oscar Dietzel and Thomas
Finnlin, brakeman on the Manhattan
Beach train.
Col. E. A. Buck, editor of the Spirit
of the Times, is among the killed