The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-11-17

Agree With the Statements Made
by Nitnesses-One of the Worst
| Horrors of the Present Year.
CLEVELAND. Nov ia heavy
electric motor car containing between
twenty and thirty passengers went
through the draw of the Central via
duct at 7:45 this evening, and dropped
100 feet to the river below It is a hor-
ror, the like of which never occurred
here before.
The Central viaduct is huge silt
bridge 5000 feet long. made of iron.
1t connects the Heights and the pros
porous residence sections on both sides
with tie business center of the city.
Directly over the river is the draw
bridge on the pivot-swinging plan, and
this is 10l 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 a safety
switch, which, unless the conductor
alights and holds up a handle, will
send car into the gully instead of al
lowing it to move on the draw.
The BIame.
First reports from the scene of the
disaster seem to place the blame on the
conductor. They We're to the effect
that the Inflated motor car, containing
between twenty and thirty people, APP
preached the draw just as a vessel
was nearing it. and the bridge attend
ants had closed the big iron gates and
Were preparing to swing the draw. AS
is the rule, the car stopped and the
conductor went forward to release the
switch in case the way was clear. He
must have been blinded b. the cleo
trio lights, for an eye witness declares
| that although the gates were closed
and the draw was in motion, the con-
ductor raised the switch handle. The
motorman applied the current and the
car shot forward and struck the gates
with crash. There was only a mo-
ment'S pause and then the heavy car
ground its way through the wreckage
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 silence.
Work of Rescue.
Soon men began to rush about,
wagons and ambulances We're flying
to the spot in respone to telephone
calls. In an incredibly short space of
time the work of rescue had begun.
All occupants of the car, with the
exception of the few who had managed
to jump as it toppled over, went down
to certain death. The car disappear
ed from sight as soon as it struck the
water, and every one of the passen-
gers were drowned.
The alarm which was sent out
brought to the scene han a dozen am
balances, fire boats, and the members
of the life saving crew with graphing
irons.
Within five minutes after the acct
dent, the surface of the river revealed
nothing of the terrible tragedy that
had just been enacted. TIE waters
had closed over the car and it's pas
sengers and the work of rescuing the
bodies in the uncertain light was slow
indeed. At 8 o'clock half a dozen
bodies that had evidently floated out
of the car and risen to the surface
were taken from the river and car
ried to the various morgueS. The news
of the terrible accident spread like
Wild-fire through the city and a large
crowd soon collected on the bridge and
along the banks of the river. They
the slow work of graphing for the
bodies.
The Captains story.
The captain of the bridge guards
says:
L saw this car coming rapidly to-
ward the draw Just as I had given the
signal to swing it to admit of the pas
sage of a vessel. l waved my hands
and halloeed to the motorman to stop,
but apparently he paid no attention to
me. The car came on. Just before it
went over the brink the motormap
jumped and ran away"
This statement does not agree with
those of eye witnesses who declare
that the conductor went ahead to open
the switch, which is about 200 feet
from the draw, and motiOned for the
car to come ahead. Certain it is that
the conductor mounted the car again
and went down with the passengers
to death, and it will never be possible
to tell exactly what he did before this.
The railway officials say they are I'M
able to give the names of the con-
ductor and moIerman who were in
charge Of the car The police are
looking for the motorman.
The exact number of passengers in
the car viii not be known until ali
register in the car showed that twenty
five fares had been collected There
may have been other passengers with
transfers, which would not have been
rung up on the register. Probably.
however, many of those fares were
registered and left til car before the
bridge was reached. As near as can
be learned there were at last fifteen,
and perhaps twenty, persons in the
car when it made the plunge Seven
unidentified bodies are at the morgues
now, and che man. whose name has
not yet been ldrrned, is at the hospital
in an unconscious condition So far
as can be learned he is the only one
who escaped instant death.
Bodies Recovered.
The bodies recovered up to midnight
number thirteen. Three more bodies
have been identified. They are those
of Matthew Callahan, who lives on
Hamilton street; Mrs. Saurhermer of
Professor street, and her sister-in-law,
Mrs. Martha Saurhermer, of 1874 Mer-
chant avenue. The man who was