The San Francisco call., 1895-11-17
Car and Passengers Fell Through
!. an Open Draw More Than a.
i. !. XIII Hundred Feet. 8. :. &:
THE MoToRMAN ESCAPED DEATH
But the Conductor, Who. Failed to See:
:. !: the Warning Signal, Was Among +
= :. FL. -. the Victims. .*..- T: !.

: CLEVELAND, Ono, Nov. 16.-A fright
full accident which occurred early this
evening has suddenly thrown a number Of
Southside families in mourning, and: it
was ali due to the criminal and unexplain-
able carelessness of streetcar conductor,
who is among the victims of the eatas-
trophe. Fifteen persons were killed. .:> .:>*
=: Some of those who were eye-witnesses
assert that the motorrnan, as we'll as the
conductor, was responsible. The accident
occurred at 7:35 o'clock at the draw of.the
Central vIaduct, a long stone and iron
structure, which crosses "a valley and the
Cuyahoga River, and connects Jennings
avenue on the south side and Central ave.
nue. on the east. The bridge is l20 feet
above The river and draw is Immediately
above it to admit of the passage OF tall
masted vessels. Ii. i: *.:.: r.,
The draw was open for tug drawing a
schooner which was about to pass be-
meath the bridge, As. usual the gates we're
closed on both sides OF the draw and danger
lights of red were displayed to guard
gainst Just such accidents as occurred to-
night. An electric car was seen coming
along from the east toward the south
side, but Captain Charles Brennan, who
has charge OF the bridge, had ne thought
of danger, as the usual precautions had
been observed. The car was one of the
Cedar and Jennings avenue branch 81 the
big consolidated line and had fifteen
passengers, a conductor and motorman
aboard, I'll. &. r.
: AT what is known as the derailing
~ J. Il m
d ductor, mechanically aighted, as is thu
custom of all conductors at this point, to
see. If all was right. The car came to a
sudden standstiH and the motoFinan.
waited for: orders. The conductor failed
to see the red signal of danger or the:
closed gates, or perhaps custom made him
careless and he: signaled to the: :metorman,
named Rogers, to come ahead :> " "
The motorman turned on the electric
fluid, tie conductor jumped aboard the
car, which at terrible speed went rolling
toward the draw. Why the motorman did
not see the danger lights or the closed
gates sooner than he did will perhaps al
ways remain a mystery, but the fact re-
mains that he did not, =: H.. :. !
When a few feet from the draw it first
dawned upon the motorman that the draw
was open. He made frantic efforts to turn
off the. current. but it was of no avail. The
notorman, realizing his own danger,
-leaped off the front platform just as the
car was nearing the draw, ran down the
via0uct in the direction of Central avenue
and disappeared. : ). j. ). -.
AT the same instant two male passengers
jumped off the rear platform and escaped
death as if by a miracle, for the car had
already. crashed into the closed iron gate
The conductor, too, tried to escape, but it
was useless. H.
:. A second after the motor had crashed
through the gate it reeled before the awful
space of 100 feet, steadied for a moment
and with terrific speed was hurled
downward. Those who saw the accident
say that they heard one agonizing chorus
of screams and in an instant all was as
quiet as death. The car struck upon a
projection of piles in the abutment beneath
the draw, then turning and breaking int
pieces it leaped into the dark river below,
breaking the tow line between the tug and
schooner that was passing beneath the
draw.
= a moment after the car struck the river
few suppressed groans were heard by the
men who happened TO be on the docks
below and then all was over. Men from
the bridge above and from the docks
yelled to the men on the tug to pick up the
people, but thirteen lives were lost, only
one man and one woman being taken out
alive.
Within twenty minutes ireboat, six
-
squad of policemen were on the scene. The
injured men and women were taken to q
hospital.
1t took many hours of hard and patient
work to extricate with ropes the thirteen
bodies from the wreckage of the car at the
bottom of the Cuyahoga. One by one the
bodies were taken to the different under.
taking establishments in every part of the
city. Work of Identification was of ex-
tremely slow progress.
Late tonight when the Southside resi-
dents heard OF the catastrophe, and when
they began to realize that their relatives
and friends had not yet returned home.
the undertaking establishments were WIS.,
tied, where one after another the bodies
were Identified. The police are on the
lookout for the motorman. Every part of
the city is being searched, but thus far he
has not been apprehended.
Among the dead identified up to mid
night are: Miss Sauernheimer and Mrs.
Jonn Sauernheimer, her sister-in-law, of
Io4 Merchant avenue; Bessie Davies of
Noyes street is missing, was traced to the
car ana Is supposed to be among the dead !;
John Holman, the conductor. and Curt
Lephehne, 16-year-old boy, who had q
ticKet In his pocket from London.
Canaqa, to Victoria. B. c.; Bes-
sic Dawes, schoolteacher of Noyes
street. IL years old; Henry w. Meckelberg,
tailor 50 years old; Harry w. Foster. clerk
at the Root and Mcbride Company, 81
mentor avenue, Is years old; James Nc
Laughiin. printer, II Trowbridge avenue.
90 years Old man named Ferguson.
n I