The record-union., 1899-08-08

BRIDGEPORT Comm, Aug. Am
open trolley car of the Shelton Exten-
sion Company twisted, bent and
smashed almost into kindling wood, ly-
ing in the middle of Peck's mill pond
at OronoQue, about six miles north OF
here, this morning, is the only visible
indication of the frightful accident of
yesterday afternoon, when twenty nine
lives We're lost and about a dozen peo-
pie seriously injured by the car tum-
bling off the trestle which crosses the
pond at this point.
Coroner Dolen has made arrange
ments to conduct an immediate inves-
LEGATION into the cause of the disaster.
Sheriff Dooan was sent out this morn
ing to empanel Coroners jury.
All kinds Of theories have been adj
vanced regarding the cause of the ac-
cident. Engineer w. w. Starr. who
superintended the building of the
bridge, to-day said that the bridge was
perfectly safe in every respect. In
his opinion, after a thorough examina-
ton, the motorman became bewildered
as the car commenced to travel fast
down the incline, and finding himself
in a dangerous situation, lost his head
and turned the current on instead of
reducing it.
The revised list of dead is as follows:
John Carroll, Bridgeport, conductor;
Mrs. Arthur Holmes. Bridgeport; Mrs.
Joseph Ruggels, Stratford; Joseph
Hotchkiss, Bridgeport; o. B. Wells,
Bridgeport; Mrs. Frank Bates and two
children, aged md 8 years, Stratford;
II Ri
port; Daniel Calvin and John Calvin,
Ansonia; Bessie Toomey, Bridgeport;
Selectman Ellis E Bradley and wife,
Milford; Sidney A. Pitt, Bridgeport;
Peter Ringe, Bridgeport; Henry c.
Cogswell, Bridgeport; Irving Dorus
Bridgeport; Patrick McDermott and
wife, Bridgeport; John A. Flynn,
Bridgeport; Thomas McNally, Bridge
port; Willis Osborn, Stratford; Marga-
ret Brennan, Bridgeport: Mrs. l. M.
Mcdonald, Bridgeport; Howard Bal
lard, Stratford; two unidentified bodies
at Stratford morgue.
Injured: Mr.. Thurholmes. Bridgeport,
leg crushed at knee, internally injured,
condition serious; Fred Hellerus, Shell
ton, scalp wounds and minor injuries;
Charles Delaney, New York, Connect
cut National Bank, son-inlaw of Mr..
Cogswell, fatally injured; Frank R..
Knapp, Bridgeport, fracture of the left
leg and knee, collar bone broken and
body extensively lacerated, condition
critical; Mrs. Sidney A. Pitt, Bridge
port right leg fractured above and be-
low knee, internally injured; Matthew
Olbin, Bloomfield, fracture OF right
wrist and scalp wound; George Can
field, Derby, bruised; William McCul-
Tough, Ansonia, internally injured; will
probably recover; Mrs. Mamie Farrell,
New York, compound fracture of right
leg, requiring immediate amputation at
knee, strained back, cut ankle and in
jured internally, critical; John Crook,
Bradford, badly shaken up; Bertha
Rugg, aged g, arm broken; Edwin
Rugg, aged 3.
The patients at the hospital were all
reported in a favorable condition to-
day, and no new fatalities are appre-
hended.
George Hamilton. the motorman of
the Inflated car, was arraigned in the
Stratford Justice Court tonight,
charged with manslaughter. He plead
ed not guilty, and the case was con-
fixed at $1,000, which he furnished.
The Coroner's jury made thorough
inspection of the trestle and itss APP
proaches to-day The structure. ao-
parently is substantial. The string
ers on the outside of each rail are of
red oak, 6x10 inches, bolted to the ties
and intended to prevent a car from
leaving the rails. The rails, however,
measure so inches from base to top
thus being only half an inch lower than
the wooden stringer on the guard rail-
Representatives of the jury measured
the distance which the car ran after
leaving the irons. as indicated by
marks and scars on the ties and found
it to be eighty-five feet.
The car, which had sunk in the mud
beneath the bridge, was removed and
carefully examined. The wheel fianges
were found to be in perfect condition.
The brake and brake rod also were un :
injured. The brakes were set. The
condition of the lever by which the
power was regulated, showed that at
the time the car left the bridge the
power was turned completely off.
The Coroner's jury has not concluded
ifc ipvpStipa tiOp