The Globe-republican., 1895-11-21

A CATASTROPHE ON AN
ELECTRIC LINE
A Score Of People Go Down 1O1 Rect
to Death at Cleveland, Ohio-The
Conductor to Blame for tho Accident
Which Costs Him His Life.


twenty and thirty passengers, went
through the draw of the central VIA
duct at 7:45 o'clock Saturday evening
and dropped lOl feet to the river be-
low. It is a horror the like of which
has never occurred here before.
As the car went over the brink of
the abyss the motorman jumped from
the vestibuled front. All the other
occupants of the car, with the excep-
ton of the few who had managed to
jump as it toppled over, went down to
certain death. The car disappeared
from sight as soon as 1t struck the
water and every one of the passen-
gers were drowned.
The central viaduct is huge silt
bridge, 5000 feet long, made of iron.
1t connects the heights and the pros
porous residence section on both
sides with the business center OF the
city. Directly over the river is draw
bridge on the pivotrswinging pattern,
and this is 10: 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 handle, will
send a car into the gully instead OF
allowing it to go on to the draw.
The ill-fated motor car. containing
between twenty and thirty people,
approach ed the draw just as q 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 con-
ductor went forward 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 already in motion, 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
wreckage and plunged over the brink
into the black abyss, amid the screams
and frantic struggles of the passen-
gers, who, at the first intimatlOn OF
danger, rushed to the rear door. The
car struck the water with a great
splash, and then there was silence.
The first reports of the disaster have
been verified in every particular, with
the possible exception of the number
of victims, which is a trifle smaller
than was at first supposed.
The work of rescuing the bodies OF
the victims has gone on steadily since
Q o'clock Saturday evening, and it is
now believed that nothing more can
be done until the last bit of the wreck
age of the car has been removed from
the river.
1t was almost impossible to work
with any system. The crowd pushed
itself as near the scene as possible and
the efforts of a large force of police to
maintain order was almost in vain. 1t
was with great difficulty that body.
when recovered, was taken to one OF
the dead wagons.
One of the bodies found was that of
little Gertie Hoffman, aged AZ years,
who was going home from the store
where her father was employed, with
her mother and brother. The child's
body was found lying against the
bank of the river, some distance be-
low the scene of the accident.
The finding of her body filled the
cup of sorrow for her father. She
was the last member of his family.
His wife and son Harvey, the latter
aged :, had already been taken from
the river.