The record-union., 1896-09-14

Railroad near this city this afternoon
an accommodation train was precipi-
tated into the bed of the creek below.
Four persons were killed outright and
a number of others seriously injured,
some of whom will die.
The dead are: Alexander Cameron,
brakeman; Miss Annie Holland of Riv-
erside, Miss Kirkham and an unknown
child.
The injured are: David Wood, Glen
dale, badly injured and cannot survive;
Mrs. David Wood. wife of above, both
legs broken and internally injured; two
little children Of David Wood, badly
crushed and bruised; George Burke, en-
gineer, severely scalded and bruised
Charles Burke, fireman, badly burned;
Harvey Sammons, conductor, fatally
injured; Mrs. Kate Minor. arm and leg
broken; Annie Winters, face cut and
leg broken; Mary Winters, internally in
jured; Daniel Mahoney, dangerously
bruised; two children of Daniel Mahony,
seriously injured; an unknown Italian
woman, unconscious and will die; Ro-
sic Budetti, Italian peddler, badly
bruised and shaken up; Herman San
ders, cut ON leg and internally injured;
A. Sanders, slightly bruised; Mrs
Gregory Of Eureka, seriously injured
internally, may die; two children of
Mrs. Gregory, seriously bruised; Sven
Johnston, badly bruised, may not re-
cover; Grant Warren, cut and bruised
about the head
Details Of the accident are difficult
to obtain, there being no telegraphic
communication with the scene, nearer
than Eureka AS far as known, the
accident was caused by the collapse of
bridge spanning Mad River. about five
miles from town. The accommodation
train, which leaves Arcata at 4:30
o'clock. this afternoon consisted of two
coaches. one box car and engine and
carried about twenty passengers.
Shortly after 5 o'clock a telephone
message vas received stating that the
train had been derailed at Mad River
bridge, and was a total wreck on the
river bed. A relief train, with doctors,
nurses, medical supplies, ETC., was i'm
mediately dispatched to the scene
The three cars and engine were found
lying beneath the bridge, a mass of
splinters. The injured had managed to
drag themselves from the debris, and
side Buried beneath the wreckage were
found the bodies of Miss Holland Miss
Kirkham and Mr.. Cameron. The un-
known child was alive when found, but
died a few minutes later.
The injured were carried up a steep
bank with great difficulty, and it was
nearly 10 o'clock when the relief train
started on the return trip to Arcata
4 ~
train was met at Arcata by the entire
population of the town, and sorrowful
scene was enacted as the dead and in
jured were claimed by friends and rela.-
tiveS.
The bridge that collapsed is several
hundred feet in length and has hitherto
been considered safe. 1t contains one
pier about midway and the approaches
are high above the gravel bed of the
stream. The train had slowed down to
about five miles an hour, as is GUS
tomary, and was moving at this speed
when the crash came. Had not the
rules in regard to speed been strictly
observed every one on board must have
perished, as an additional twenty-five
feet would have landed the entire train
in the waters of the river.
Louis Everding of the Riverside Mil
Company, one of the passengers on the
wrecked train, said in an interview to-
night '"There were about twenty pas
sengers on board, and of this number
only three escaped injury. / was seated
in the smoking car chatting with a
number of gentlemen when the crash
came None of US had the remotest idea
of what had occurred. We felt the car
sink beneath US, and after a downward
plunge, such as a person experiences on
a rapidly falling elevator, felt sharp
lar. and an instant later l found myself
crawling out through the side door of
the car. The train had dropped a dis
tance of fully forty feet to the hard
gravel bottom of the river. All the
cars were smashed to splinters, and no
difficulty was experienced by the res
cue party from Vance's Mill in removing
the dead and injured from the wreck
age Alexander Cameron, the brake
man, was riding on the front of the
box car, and his body was crushed to a
pulp. Miss Annie Holland was struck
on the head and must have died in
stantly. Miss Kirkham was smothered
and crushed to death. A sad case is
that Of the family of David Wood. Mr.
Wood is seriously injured about the
head; his wife has a broken arm and
leg and will probably die, and his two
little children, a boy and a girl, cannot
recover. AS to the cause Of the accident
/ know nothing. We were moving at a
slow speed as we approached the bridge.
When the engine reached the first span
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