The morning news., 1897-08-17
SIX HURT IN AN ACCIDENT.
FLAT CAR PLUNGES FROM TREsILE
AT TYBEE FORTIFIC ATIONs.

to BE FataI-DoctOrs Now believe
All VIII BeccVer-Specinl Train
Went Down with Physicians aEd
Nurses-The Injured Men brought
to the City and Placed in the Hos
pitfalls.
Six men were injured yesterday morning
at Tybee in an accident that occurred az
about 7:30 o'clock. while the work on tae
government fortdcadons was in progress
The injuries of none of the mon are be-
lieved to have been necessarily fatal 1T
was at first thought that three of them
would be likely to die but after they had
been cared for by physicians. signs of i'm
provement IN their conditions were percep-
uble' Five Of the injured men are ne
groes the sixth being the white foreman,
+. e. stevens, Of the gang employed in
loading and unloading a nat car. The
names and nature of the hurts of the men
are as follows:
f. L. Stevens foreman, injured about
the left knee, which is badly bruised, but
has no bones broken.
William Kirkland, bruised about the
body.
Abe Small. spinal injury that may
prove only temporary. No symptom of
paralysis is now shown. At first an in
ability to move the arms was regarded as
evidence of paralysis, but this has disap-
peared.
N. North, concussion Of the brain and
bruises over different parts of the body
He has been unconscious since the acci-
dent, but an improvement in his condition
has been observed by the
physicians. If he survives tin
tomorrow as the physicians think he will,
an operation Of trephining viii be per-
formed.
J. Collen, bruised about the body.
]. S. skurdy, rignt ankle sprained, and
injured internally
OF these men the three most seriously
hurt are North, Small and Skurdy.
The doctors say that they now have
greater hope Of their ultimate recovery
than they had just after the accident
The fact that their condition has inn
proved in this short while is an indica-
tion. the doctors think, that they viii re-
cover.
The accident occurred where the work of
filling in the foundation for the fort Is
going on. There is a trestle built along
side the lines that are being hlled with
sand and broken stone. IL Is sixteen leet
in hight and is approached by an incline.
$50 feet in length The trestle itself Is OF
about the same length. The material with
which the bins are filled is pushed up the
incline on fiat car by an engine On
reaching the top of the incline 1t becomes
Immediately necessary for the engineer 90
apply the brakes in order to arrest the
sDeed that has TO be put on the engine in
order to mount the incline. Failure
10 applv the brakes at the
proper time could not but result seriously
as the distance from the top of the incline
to the other end of the trestle is so short
This was what occurred yesterday morning
when the new engineer, b. B. Rogers, who
was making his first trip up the incline,
failed to put on his brakes at the top. There
are special appliances attached to the en-
gine used for the work with the particular
object in view of avoiding such an accident
as that of yesterday. In addition to the
usual vacuum brakes there are steam
brakes that serve 70 arrest the driving
wheels. Application of these brakes at
the proper time viii stop the engine and
car within Jess than the length of the for
mer
For some reason the engineer failed TO
put on the brakes as he reached the top of
the incline. and the car and engine coutn-
ued at an undated but rather accelerated,
speed, as it left the incline and reached
level track till they reached the butting
block that stood at the other end of the
trestie. Before the car came into
contact with the block two of
the men, seeing that an accident was in
evitable, jumped from the car on which
they were all standing. The two were
Foreman Stevens and Skurdy but the
n IS "a nj al
struck the block. They were thrown into
the air, and their fan was from a hight
considerably greater chan that Of the tres
tie. The car itself took an upward flight
as IL struck the strongly braced block and
the consequent tendency was for the men
10 be pitched into the air
Their fail was from the end
of the trestle. The fat car went
over the block also aud remained, badly
wrecked, with one end on the trestle and
the other on the ground. The engine and
tender remained on the track.
Immediately after the accident, which
was witnessed by the workmen engaged
on the forudcatons work was suspended
and all that was possible done for the
wounded men. They were taken up and
carried into the foreman's quarters. where
they remained tm the special train, that
went down with physicians nurses and
officials, returned 20 the city. News of tho
by Secretary ". r.. Crosby of the
Nenable Construction Company. which
has the work on hand, TO Mr.. IT, A. ID.
Hancock. Ia the employ OF the company.
who was IN the city Mr. Hancock imme-
diately arranged with Dr. Graham. Dr.
Fitch. DR. Dudley ana two trained nurses.
Misses Charlton and Chapman, OF the
Savannah hospital. 10 accompany him on
a special train 20 the island. This train
arrived at the works about 9:2J O'Clock
Superintendent Clement Saussy OF the
Tybee road and Mr. r. q. Clark Of the
Stevcns-Clark Company being also
aboard. ON reaching the scene OF the ace
cidcnt The physicians al once began work
and soon had done AN they could to make
The injured comfortable. This took about
two hours ana the men were then put
aboard thc train ana brought 20 the city
where they arrived al about II o'clock
Conveyance We're procured ana the men
driven 80 thc hospitals the white man
being taken iu the police ambulance to
the city hospital and tho negroes To- the
Georgia lnhrm1ry. Late accounts from
the hospital last night Indicated that Che
men were resting as easily as possible un-
der the circums tnncCs. The afternoon die
agnos.s ~ thc physicians assured thtm