The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1895-11-23
Car and Passengers Dropped One
Hundred Feet.
THE RIVER SWALLOWED THEM
The Mistake of One Man Brought the
Car Through the Gates of an
Open Draw.


20 and 80 passengers, went through the
draw of the central viaduct at 7:45
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 a huge silt
bridge, 5000 feet long, made Of iron. Ii
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 a safety switch which,
unless the conductor alights and holds
up a handle, will send a car into the
gully instead Of allowing it 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 snotor car approached
the draw just as a vessel was nearing
it, and the bridge attendants closed the
big iron gates and were 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
motion, the conductor raised the switch
handle.
The motorman applied the current
and the car shot forward and struck
the gates with a 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 We're flying to the
spot in response to telephone calls In
an incredibly short space of time the
work Of rescue begun.
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.
Matthew Callahan
Mrs. Saurhermer
MOTORMAN'S STORY.
Rogers, the motorman of the car, was
arrested late tonight at his home, and
was held in $4,000 bail to await the result
of the coroner's inquest. He said:
The conductor went ahead and turn
ed the switch, giving me the signal to
come ahead. l supposed that every
, thing was all right, and did not notice
that the draw was open. I suppose ]
was deceived by the fact that the cleo
trio lights in the car did not go out
: when we passed the cutoff. When
discovered that the gates to the draw
were closed 1 jumped from my car,
falling on the edge of the bridge and
barely escaping rolling over When 1
saw what had happened and realized
the extent of the accident, l ran back
across the bridge until ! found a police
man, and told him to get help. Then
s | went down below the bridge, where
/ they were at work on the wreck and
! afterwards went home"
Cleveland, Ohio, Nov 1.-THE people
Of this city stood appalled, today when
5 they realized the fun horror Of the ter
rible accident which occurred last even
ing on the big Central viaduct. 1t was
!. the worst accident that had ever hap
pened in this city, and the story of how
the motor car, loaded with men, women
!, and children, had plunged through the
+ open draw straight down a hundred
! feet into the river was told over and
! over again. Thousands of people re-
+ NAMED by the river bank all last night
4 and thousands more were there early
this morning. Great crowds are still
standing on the bridge above the
E wrecked car and about the place where
the wreck is buried in the river eagerly
I discussing every detail of the accident.
First reports of the disaster have
!. been verified in every particular with
: the possible exception of the number
: Of victims, which is somewhat smaller
e than was at first supposed. The work
I Of rescuing the bodies of the victims
:. has gone on steadily since o'clock last
n night, and it is now believed nothing
more can be done until the last bit of
the wreckage of the car has been re-
moved from the river.
= The lumber mills of the port of Tacoma
e are in operation day and night, preparing