Huntsville gazette., 1893-09-02
A FEARFUL WRECK.
a Train Load Of Pleasure Seekers
Split In Two.
Fifteen Persons Killed and Half a Hum
dred Mangled in the Wreck, Many
of Whom VIII Die of Their
Injuries.

SNSAh PCioCiio OSSuIlCu ouOl olN alpCA
midnight yesterday morning in the
little village of Berlin, near Calvary
cemetery in the town of Newton. The
Long Island train that left Manhattan
Beach at 11:15 o'clock was overtalxen
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 un-
hurt.
The accident happened at half an
hour after midnight. 1t was over an
hour before any news of it reached any
outside point 1t came by messen
ger who walked into Long Island
City.
The railroad company Immediately
dispatched relief train with all the
physicians obtainable, consisting of
DIR. Valentine, the surgeon of the road,
and Drs Huikson, Kennedy, Doyle and
McKeown.
They found an appalling state of af
fairs. The Manhattan Beach train
had been standing in the block to al
low of another train ahead getting at
a safe distance. The Rockaway Beach
train came dashing along behind, ran
into the same block and crashed into the
rear end of the standing train. Both
were crowded with excursionistS and
both were the last trains from their
respective resorts. There were five
cars in the Manhattan Beach train, all
of them open cars. The Rockaway
train plunged in and plowed its way
completely through the two rear cars
and partly wrecked the third. Pas
scngers in the three cars were MANNED
and mangled horribly and their shrieks
of terror and pain were awful.
The Rockaway engine was wrecked.
Its Smoke-stack was carried away and
its huge boilers resembled pin cush-
ion from the timbers of wrecked cars
sticking into it. Upon these timbers
werehuman beings impaled, some dead
and others gasping their last. High
upon the top lay the dead body of
man as yet unidentified. Upon one of
the timbers was impaled the body of
Mrs. Oscar Bietzel, 30 years old, of 1872
East One Hundred and Fourteenth
street, New York city.
The scene of the wreck was indie
scribably horrible. The dead and
wounded were mashed among the
wreckage beside and upon the tracks.
The timbers were showered with the
blood of the dead and wounded, and
the cries of the latter could be heard
high above the kissing of the steam
and the calls of the frantic trainmen.
AS fast as the wounded were taken
from the wreck they were carried to
the relief train and cared for. The
doctors on board worked swiftly but
we'll
Others of the doctors were out on the
wreck applying restoratives and max
ing hurried dressings of wounds as the
sufferers were taken out, and then the
latter were put on the relief train for
more careful treatment.
Havemyer's factory stands close to
the tracks at the scene of the accident
this was thrown open and some of the
dead and injured were carried in there.
One of the physicians was stationed
here to receive them as they were
brought in. When all the wounded
had been found that could be, the re-
lief train started with them for Long
Island City. They were met there by
the only ambulance which st. Johns
hospital owns. Two were placed in it
and hurried to the hospital, and
the ambulance returned for more.
Meanwhile express wagons, palace
cars. 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 there, Oscar Dietzel, of 1872
East One Hundred and Fourteenth
street, and John Coughlin, brake
man on the Manhattan Beach train.
The dead were taken by another spe
cial train to Newton, which is the
nearest town to the scene of the acci-
dent, and placed in Skeletons morgue
bv the order of Coroner Brandon. Of
the dead there were thirteen, eight
men. four women and the boy Vein
stein.
The wrecked Manhattan Beach train
was special leaving the Beach at 1915
and carrying away all the struggling
pleasure seekers who remained late,
the members of Sousa's band and many
employees who were on their way to
New York to stay over Sunday. James
A. Mott was the conductor of the Man
haitian Beach train, Otis Donaldson,
engineer and William shurr, fireman.
Of the two brakemen, Thomas Finn
and James Mccormick, Finn was killed
and Mccormick was uninjured,
The Manhattan Beach train was just
pulling ont of the block when the
crash came and had just begun to move.
When Engineer Donaldson heard and
felt the accident he threw open his
lever and made all speed for Long
Island City, leaving the three wrecked
cars behind him.
Frank E. Finley was the conductor