Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1895-11-21
A SCORE OF PEOPLE KILLED IN
CLEVELAND.
STREET CAR INTO THE RIVER
Flunges From Bridge a Hundred
Feet TO the River Below-Bcdies
Being Recovered-Few of the Occu-
pants Escape-Gross Carelessness
of Somebody.


and thirty passengers, went through
the draw of the central viaduct at S:45
p. m. Saturday and dropped 101
feet to the river below, causing hor-
ror the like of which never occurred
here before. The central viaduct is
huge iron silt bridge 5000 feet long.
1t connects the heights, prosperous
residence section on the south side,
with the business center Of the city.
Directly over the river is draw
bridge of a pivot-sWinging pattern
and this is 101 feet above the surface
of the water. The south side street
railway passed over the bridge and on
either side of the draw there is
safety switch which, unless the con-
ductor alights and raises up handle
will send the car into a gutter instead
of allowing it to go on the draw. The
first reports from the scene of the dis
aster seem to place the blame on the
conductor. They were to the effect
that the Inflated motor car contain
ing, between 20 and 80 people, ap-
preached the draw just as a vessel
was nearing it and the bridge at
PENDANTS had closed the big iron gate
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 by the electric
lights, for an eyewitness declares, al
though the gates were closed and the
draw already in motion, the con-
ductor raised the switch handle. The
motor-man 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 groaned its way through the
wreckage and plunged over the brink
into the black abyss amid the screams
and frantic struggles of the
passengers. The car struck on the
water with great splash and then
there was silence. Soon men began
rushing and shouting about and the
police patrol, wagons and ambulances
were soon flying to the spot in re-
spouse to telephone calls. In an III
credibly short space of time the work
of rescue had begun.
All occupants of the car with
the exception of a few who managed
to jump as it toppled over, went down
! to certain death. The car disappeared
| from sight IS soon as it struck the
water and every one of the passengers
6rnU-,onH IN oil iol,
sent out brought to the scene half
dozen ambulances, fire boats and
live saving crew with graphing irons.
The waters had closed over the car
and passengers and the work of res
cuing the bodies in the uncertain
light was slow indeed.
At o'clock half dozen passengers
bodies that evidently had fioated out
of the car and risen to the surface,
were taken from the river and carried
to various morgues.
The news of the terrible accident
spread like wildfire through the city
and a large crowd soon collected on
the bride and along the banks OF the
river.
The captain of the bridge guard
says: Il saw the car coming rapidly
toward the draw just as l had given
the signal to swing it to admit of the
passage of a vessel. l waved my hands
and halloed 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 motorman
jumped and ran away"
This statement does not agree with
| those of eye-witnesses who declare
that the conductor went ahead to the
switch, and mctioEed Tor the car 10
come ahead. Certain it is, the con-
ductor 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 the
accident occurred.
The police are looking for the motor
man. The exact number of passengers
in the car will not be known until all
the bodies are recovered. The regis
ter in the car shows, those who es-
capped say, 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. AS near as can be learned
there were fifteen at least, and posi-
bly, twenty persons in the car when it
made the plunge.
Seven unidentified bodies are at the
morgues now and one man, whose
name has not yet been learned, is at
the hospital in an unconscious condi-
ton. So far as can be learned he is
the only one who escaped instant
death.
The work of rescuing the bodies
went on by faring light lamps on fire
boats. By 1890 five more bodies in
addition to those already taken to the
morgues, making twelve in all, had
been taken from the river.
Scores of people living on the south
side who had relatives or friends
working or visiting on the east side
fiocked to the scene of the accident
and visited the morgue to make
anxious inquiries about missing
friends. In the confusion, however,
but little could be learned from them.
Up to II o'clock not a single body had
been identified.
Word just comes from the scene of
the wreck that a dredge has been Sc
cured and that the car will be raised
bodily from the bottom of the river.