Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-07-11
One Passenger Killed and Number
Injured in Smashup.
ELECTRIC CAR BUSHES DOWN INCLINE
Breaking Of Chain Works Disaster
on Capital Railway.
KILLED AND INJU r ED

and the car ran down the hill at a fright
full rate of speed, crashing into an Ana
costa horse car at the foot Of the hill,
smashing a trolley pole and awning post
and finally coming to a stop at Nichols and
Howard avenues. One passenger was kill
ed and about three dozen people were more
or less injured. Some Of them were Sc
riously hurt and one or two may die. Mo-
torman Arthur Shelly did all he could
with the electric current. and when the
bottom of the hill was reached and an ac-
cident could not be avoided he jumped
from the platform and escaped injury.
Conductor J. w. Werner remained aboard
until the collision occurred, but also es-
capped injury.
As soon as the accident happened there
were telephone messages sent in all direc-
tions for doctors and ambulances. The po-
lice reserves were called out. ana IN d
short time the wounded were being cared
for either in the hospitals or at their
homes Some few were kept in houses
near the scene of the accident and were
given medical treatment
Crowded With Passengers.
The Capital Railway Company uses the
overhead trolley system south of the Ana
costa bridge. When car No. left Con-
gress Heights, some minutes after
o'clock last night, there were many pas
sengers aboard, including men, women and
children. Many Of them had spent the day
in the woods and were returning home.
Just after passing the gate of the govern
ment hospital for the insane passengers
on the car heard a rumbling noise, but
just what it was they, of course, did not
know. The motorman understood very
well what the trouble was, and he gave the
conductor a signal of warning. The car
was then going at terrific speed, and the
conductor made his way to the rear plat
form and used every effort to apply the
brake. but was powerless to check the
car. When the passengers realized that
a smash-up was unavoidable they began
jumping from the runaway vehicle, and in
this way several were injured, while 9TH
ers managed to escape unhurt Driver
Roger Barker of the Anacostia street car
line had his car on the turntable, near
Douglass Hall, and had not finished turn
Ing the car, when his attention was at
tracted to the electric car then laundering
down the hill. While he believed that the
saving of his horses and car was impossi-
BILE, he made an effort to get the animals
loose An instant before the crash came
he deserted his team and jumped to the
sidewalk, reaching there In time to save
his life.
Witnessed the Destruction.
Standing there on the sidewalk the driver
saw his car demolished and his horses
so frightfully cut up that it was necessary
to end their sufferings soon afterward. The
heavy electric car jumped the track just
before the switch and turntable were
reached, but did not clear the little horse
car. This vehicle was struck on the end,
and SO great was the force that II was
smashed and splintered and thrown in a
mass on the sidewalk. The fatally injured
horses were also thrown on the pile of
cebrls. Moving on as If 1t were going to
| EAR through the houses on the street the
q lrnS md
iron trolley pole about the same time
This changed the course Of the runaway
and instead OF going through it continued
along the line of the curb, taking an avn
ing post from in front of w. L. Gales drug
store and finally stopping ut Howard ave-
nue. Here the collapse Of tho car was
almost complete. and the passengers were
imprisoned by the falling of the roof and
uprights.
Driver Barker of the Anacostia line and
Conductor Werner, who had gotten off the
damaged car at the last minute, were
among the first to begin The work of rescu-
ing the passengers. Women and children
In the car were screaming ant shrieking.
Some of the passengers had received
broken legs, arms or ribs; some had been
cut about the head and body. while still
others had received internal injuries which
caused severe suffering and enddngers
their lives.
Adds to the Horror.
The sight of blood on so many of the VIC
Tins added to the horror of the situation, i
and frightened some of the women and chill
dren who had really not been injured to
any great extent. The noise made by the
smashing of the cars and the outcries made
by the frightened passengers attracted peo-
pie from points several squares distant, and
there was soon a big crowd on the street.
Many of them were of assistance to the in
jured ones, for they were scattered along
Nichols avenue from near the top of the
hill to Howard avenue, where the car final
ly came to a stands till. Some of those who
had jumped had received injuries which
rendered them unable to mako their way
to the foot of the hill, while those who had
not been SO badly hurt assisted them as
best they could. Physicians and ambu-
lances were in great demand, and the doc
tors at the insane asylum were quick to
respond to call. DR.. Stewart Harrison of
Anacostia and DR.. w. e. Gales of Hillsdale
were also soon on hand. Police patrol
wagons from several of the stations, as
well as hospital and polica ambulances,
were called out to remove the injured.
Wagons in HillSdale were also pressed into
service, and after some little time the mora
seriously injured passengers were in the
hospitals, while others were patched up by
the doctors and sent to their homes.
The people of Hillsdale and Anacostia did
all in their power to assist the victims of
the accident. Several houses were thrown
open and converted into hospitals, and
medicines and render other help.
Women and Children in Wreck.
Among those who remained in the car I'M
til the final crash came were number of
children and women, and not many of them
were seriously hurt. When the rescuers re-
moved several of the heavier pieces Of
broken timbers and the roof these passen-
gers were found in all sorts of positions
some of them at full length on the car floor,
while others were in kneeling posture, and
still others had remained on the seats. In
the midst of all the confusion and suffering
little dog that had evidently been on the
car with one of the passengers emerged
from the wreck. The animal was a little
disfigured, but did not appear very much
frightened, and would not be driven from
the wreck until its owner was sighted.
Removed to Emergency.
There were five of the injured passengers
taken to the Emergency Hospital, but three
of them were able to be sent to their homes
after receiving treatment. One Of them
was r. w. Bowman who lives on Congress
Heights. His injuries are serious, but 1t is
believed he will recover. He was hurt
about the hip and back and his left hand
was also sprained and cut. He was not
able to leave the hospital, Ernest Berke-