The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-12-12
CABLE CARS COLLIDE
COME TOGETHER IN CIyICAGO'S
wAsHINGTON-sTREE TUNNEL.
Thirty-Six Persons Suffer Injnry-Two
Fatally and Fifteen Others serious
ly Hurt-Fire HrcaIxs Out.

CHICAGO, Dec lin collision between
cable cars In the Washington-street tunnel
this evening two men were fatally hurt, fif-
teen more were seriously injured and a
score of others more or less bruised. The
cars were set on fire by the stoves, and
for time there was a panic around the
wreck. Those most seriously injured were:-
NORRIS SMITH, Internally injured and
both legs broken; died in the hospital.
JOHN DONOHUE. right leg broken head
GEORGE NEWMAN. head and face bad
ly cut
severe bruises.
JAMES MDoNALD, left side of face
JOHN FREMS, leg twisted, bad bruises
about hips and nose broken.
JAMES MGINTY, seriously bruised about
MRS. THOMAS BEMAN. seriously
bruised and head and face cut:
MRS. GEORGE REISS, head hurt and
MRS. WILLIAM PARKER. both ankles
broken and severely bruised.
WILLIAM ,MULRoQNEY, teeth knocked
G. B. BURTLE, head cut and face
A. ATKENs. nose crushed and body
MRS. EsTELLA vIAMEN, injured about
shoulders and hips.
HARRY GODDARD. face cut head cut
I. H. MORAN. gripman on Milwaukee
avenue car, badly bruised and injured in
NELLIE scHoTr. head cut and badly
C. B. -BART,eN,- face fearfully lacerated
and teeth Knocked out.
MISS OLGA SCHROEDER, fingers
smashed and head cut.
N PETERSEN, left arm broken.
JOHN SPETH, face lacerated and nose
smashed fat
bruised.
In addition to these there was a large
number of people who suffered painful in
juries Smashed fingers. knocked-out teeth,
sprained ankles and wrists were very nu-
merous.
Both the West Madison-street and the
Milwaukee-avenue cable lines run through
the tunnel and at the time the accident
occurred 6:30 oclockD all the west-bound
cars are jammed to suffocation with people
returning from business on the South Side.
A Madison-street cable train, consisting of
a grip car and two trailers. was two-thirds
OF the way down the decline toward the
bottom of the tunnel when cable train
of the Milwaukee line, also consisting of
three cars. entered the tunnel. Almost I'M
mediately after starting down the slope
STpiI1dn L. H. MOTaIi, OF the MtlWdukee-
avenue car, lost his hold Oh the cable and
the cars leaped forward down the steep
incline at a fearful speed. Moran rang his
alarm bell and he and the conductors set
all the brakes on the train, but were un-
able to hold 1T, and just as the bottom OF
the tunnel was reached the runaway cars
struck the Madison-street train with ter
rifle force. smashing its rear car into splin-
ters and demolishing the Milwaukee-avenue
grip car. Both cars were piled up in a
heap, from which such passengers as were
capable of moving crawied out, battered
and bleeding. Each of the two wrecked
cars held about seventy-five passengers,
and that a number were not instantly
killed was a wonder. To add to the horror
of the accident one of the wrecked cars
caught fire and began to blaze furiously
All the people injured on this car had been
removed before the fire became dangerous
however A number of people were PIN
ioned in the wreck, and others were held
fast between the wreckage and the walls
of the tunnel. All of them were quickly
removed and the fire was extingushed by
an engine company which responded. to the
alarm.
The cause of the accident was the break
ing of the grip OF the Milwaukee-ayenue
car. With this out OF order there was
nothing except the brakes TO hold the train
and they were powerless against the heavy
load on the cars