The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1899-08-07
FORTY FEET BELOW.
Trolley Car Loaded with Passengers
Goes off a Trestle.
KILLED NUMBER 7HlRTY.SIX.
There We're Only Two Persons Who
Escaped Injury.
THE CAR LANDED UP SIDE DOWN,
The Heavy Motor and Wheels Crashing
Into 1t.
HE CAR LANDED UP SIDE DOWN,
WAS RUNNING AT A HIGH RATE OF SPEED
There Were No Guard Rails to Pro-
tect Ii When the Car Jumped
the Track.

Bridgeport Conn, August 6.-Nearly
forty people were killed by an accident on
the stratford extension of the Shelton
Street Railway company at 4 o'clock this
afternoon, when a loaded trolley car went
of the trestle over Peck's mill pond at
Cirque, about six miles north of Bridge
port. and sank In the flats forty feet below
Thus far thirty-siS people are known to
be dead and several more injured
Thu identified dead are:
JOSEPH HoTCHKIss, Bridgeport, engineer
hre department
n. c. COGSwELL. Bridgeport. employe OF
New York, New flaven and Hartford rail-
road. member OF board of education.
O. n. WELLS. shoemaker.
ELIAS II. BRADLEY AND WIFE OF Mil
ford.
VIM. OSBORNE, Stratford
DANIEL GAVIN. Ansonia.
CONDUCTOR JOHN CARROLL. Bridge
port.
S. b. BANKS. Shelton.
MRS. M'DONALD. Bridgeport
MoToRMAN wINToN LANTHEAR Bridge
port
BESSIE TooMEY. Bridgeport.
MRS j. H. RuGGE. stratford.
MRS. FRANK BLEW AND TWO Chill
DREN. boy aged and girl aEed .. stratford.
WIN. MCCULLOUGH Stratford.
MRS. ARTHUR HOLMES Bridgeport,
THOS. M'NALLY, Bridgeport identity I'M
known as positive).
PETER KING. Bridgeport.
PAT MDERMoTT. Bridgeport.
FRANK KRAFT Bridgeport,
MRS. PAT BRENNAN. bridgeport.
ALFRED PITT. Bridgeport
WILLIAM CoTTER, Bridgeport identity not
positive).
IRVING FoRUsE. Bridgeport.
MRS. WIN. II. HARVEY. Bridgeport
Among the seriously injured at the
Bridgeport hospital are: Margaret Bren-
nan, scalp wound Mrs. Sydney A. Hit.
Bridgeport, right leg fractured twice. Mar
garet Farrell. right leg amputated above
knee, will probably die; George Hamilton.
scalp wound, injury TO leg; Frank Kraft.
Bridgeport, injuries about head and back;
Arthur Holmes, Bridgeport, confusion
about the body, left leg crushed Fred
Hollocus, Bridgeport. scalp wound, bruised
about body; Matthew Oliver, scalp wound,
cut and bruised generally.
John Calvin. % years old, Ansonia.
Margaret Farrell, New York.
William Kelly, Bridgeport, sprained arm
Mabel Rugg. aged 5. arm broken.
Charles Delaney, New York. stock
broker, injured internally
Only two persons are known to have
escaped unframed.
1t is believed that there were forty three
passengers on the car, but the indicator
was removed by conductor Of another
car and spirited away, SO that at present
it is impossible to state accurately the
number aboard.
The scene OF the accident is midway
between Shelton and Bridgeport. The car
was northbound, running toward Shelton.
1t was In charge of Conductor JYnn Car
roll of Bridgeport, who was among the
killed, and Motorman Hamilton OF Bridge
port, who escaped by jumping.
The trestle is 440 feet long, made OF iron
with stone foundation and was not pro-
tected by guard rails. South OF the trestle
was an incline, down which the car ran
at high rate Of speed. After II ran into
the trestle for about ten feet the trucks
left the rails and then the car continued on
the ties for about $50 feet, when 1t went
off the trestle and dropped into the pond
below, overturning completely and up
ending. When the car struck the four-ton
motor and heavy trucks crushed into 1t,
killing many of the passengers
Three physicians. who were passengers
on the car short distance behind. were
quickly on the scene and rendered all pos
sible assistance to the injured. Word was
sent to Bridgeport and three ambulances
and police wagon were hurriedly sent TO
the scene and the injured were taken. to
the Bridgeport general hospital.
A morgue was improvised In the main
room of the town hall at stratford and In
a short time twenty-three bodies were laid
out awaiting Identification.
The accident was witnessed by Mrs.
Francis Peck. who resides about 400 feet
from the bridge. She was upstairs at her
home as the car was passing and she says
that 1t was running unusually fast. Frank
cramer. who was bathing near the bridge,
states that the passengers were all singing
and in the most joyful mood as they passed
him. The road which is practically con-
trolied by the Bridgeport Traction COM
pany. was opened for traffic last Thursday
Nearly the entire medical force OF