The Weiser signal. [volume] (Weiser, Idaho) 1890-1904, 1895-11-21
Car and Passengers Dropped One
Hundred Feet.
THE RIVER SWALlEWe0 THEM
The Mistake of One Man Brought the
Car Through the Gates OF an
Open Draw.

20 and 30 passengers. went through the
draw of the central viaduct at 7:4b
O'Clock this evening. and dropped 100
feet to the river below. 1t Is horror,
the like of which never occurred here
before.
The central viaduct is huge stilt |
bridge 5000 feet long, made of iron. 1t |
connects the heights and the prosperous |
residence sections on both sides at the |
business center of the city. Directly |
over the river is drawbridge on piv-
OF swinging plan, and this is 101 feet |
above the surface of the water. The
South Side Street Railway passes over
the bridge, and on either side of the
draw there is safety switch which,
unless the conductor alights and holds
up a handle, will send a car into the
gully instead OF allowing 1t to go on
the draw.
First reports from the scene of the
disaster seem to place the blame on the
conductor They were to the effect
that the Inflated motor car approached
the draw Just as vessel was nearing
1t, and the bridge attendants closed the
big iron gates and We're preparing to
swing the draw AS is the rule, the
car stopped and the conductor went for
ward to release the SWITCH in case the
way was clear He must have been
blinded by the electric lights, for an
eyewitness declares that although the
gates were closed and the draw was in
notion the conductor raised the switch
handle.
The motorman applied the current
and the car shot forward and struck
| the gates with crash. There was only
| a moments pause, and then the heavy
| car ground its way through the wreck
| age and plunged over the brink into the
| black abyss, amid the screams and
frantic struggles of the passengers, who
| at the first intimation of danger rushed
| for the rear door.
The car struck the water with a
| great splash, and then there was ST.
| lence.
Soon men began to rush about shout
| ing wildly, and the police patrol wag-
ons and ambulances were flying to the
spot in response to telephone calls. In
an incredibly short space of time the
work of rescue begun
WATERS CLOSED OVER 1T.
All the occupants of the car. with the
exception of those who had managed
to jump as it toppled over, went down
to certain death. The car disappeared
from sight as soon as it struck the wa
ter. and every one of the passengers
was drowned.
LIST OF THE DEAD.
The dead as Identified are as fol
lows:
Mrs. Minnie Brown.
- Hoffman, conductor of car.
Henry w. Mecklemburg.
Burt Lephne.
Mrs. A. w. Hoffman.
Harvey Hoffman, aged is.
Bessie Davis.
[ James Mclaughlin.
/ Harry w. Foster.
v Matthew Callahan.
= Mrs. Saurhermer.
MOTORMAN'S STORY.
Rogers, the motorman Of the car, wa
| arrested late tonight at his home, an
was held in $4,000 bail to await the resul
d of the coroner's inquest. He said:
1.-THE conductor went ahead and turr
y ed the switch, giving me the signal
r come ahead. 1 supposed that every
y thing was all right, and did not motto
rt that the draw was open. l suppose
e was deceived by the fact that the ele'
ID trio lights in the car did not go OF
III when we passed the cutoff. When
j. discovered that the gates to the dra
A. were closed / jumped from my ca
falling on the edge of the bridge ar
ne barely escaping rolling over. When
saw what had happened and realize
the extent of the accident, ran ba'
IS across the bridge until found polio
man, and told him to get help. Th'
| went down below the bridge. whe
they were at work on the wreck, al
ar afterwards went home.'
on Cleveland Ohio, Nov. 1.-THE peoT
hu of this city stood appalled, today VIII
u they realized the full horror of the u
n' rible accident which occurred last eve
y" ing on the big Central viaduct. 1t W
the worst accident that had ever ma
hu pened in this city, and the story of h'
SS the motor car, loaded with men, WON
700 and children, had plunged through I
~ open draw straight down a hundf
0 feet into the river was told over q
over again. Thousands OF people
mained by the river bank all last nif
W. and thousands more were there ca
Is | this morning. Great crowds are $
standing on the bridge above
of | wrecked car and about the place wh
,at the wreck is buried in the river cage
the discussing every detail of the accide
ber First reports of the disaster nj
tu- | been Verlned III every pdf flicuiai' "
dl- the possible exception of the mum
ars Of victims, which Is somewhat sma
II than was at first supposed. The W
of rescuing the bodies of the Wet
ALE has gone on steadily since o'clock
night, and 1t is now believed moth
in more can be done until the last bi
the wreckage of the car has been
d. moved from the river.
big Scenes about the river late last Mi
ent- while the work of rescue was b'
d of prosecuted, were pathetic In the
d in treme. The thousands Of people
the had assembled and waited for the
pee covery of the bodies was sad cre
and out of respect for the unfortul
dead but very little noise was m
Occasionally the wild scream OF
nett frantic woman who believed some
Ad- dear to her was among the unfc
at nate ones would echo over the !
AIDED | only to be taken up at distanc
and | some other woman whose heart
SON breaking over her loss.
A.-I1o f,ttx, raporfa hueinpqs fairly