The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-02-05
CRUSHED BY
THE CRANK Of
HIS ENGINE
Horrible Death of G.
F. Patterson.
He WAS INSTANTLY KILLED
HIS BODY MANGLED BEYOND
RECOGNITION.
No One Can Say How the Accident
Happened, as the Engine Was
Not Going Just
Before.
HE WAS INSTANTLY KILLED
HIS BODY MANGLED BEYOND
RECOGNITION.

OAKLAND, Feb. 4.-George Frederick
Patterson, an engineer residing at SOL
Santa Clara avenue, Alameda, met hor-
rible death on the Alameda Mole shortly
after o'clock this afternoon His body
was so frightfully mangled between the
crank of the donkey engine and the fric-
ton drum of the piledriver that he was
unrecogniZable when he was found.
For the past week or more the pile
driver force had been engaged in
Strengthening the end of the narrow
gauge mole, and Mr.. Patterson has been
In charge of the donkey engine about
three weeks. The piling work was practi-
eally completed this afternoon, and the
donkey engine and driver, which are sta
toned on f1atcar, were moved about
nifty feet back, so as to permit the men
to remove the tracks that had been tenn
porarlly lad to accommodate the outfit
Inc engine had shut down, but steam
was still up, and Engineer Patterson was
engaged in cleaning, wiping and oiling the
machinery. Suddenly. the engine started
running again. This attracted the atten-
tlen OF Foreman James Ross and a helper
named DameI }. Desmond, and they were
the hrst to realize that the engineer was
being mangled. Desmond quickly climbed
up to the throttle and stopped the machi-
merry from further beating the form into
a mass of bleeding flesh.
When we heard the engine spinning
ike buzzsaw we knew that there was
something wrong" said Foreman Ross
IN giving his view of the accident to-
night And when we reached the engine
we saw that Patterson was being crushed
by the crank. The engine had not run
over twenty seconds before Desmond
reached the throttle and shut her down.
No one knows how it all happened, for no
one saw Patterson fall, and the only way
to my mind in which it could have hap
pened is this Patterson was probably
oiling up, and held his oiler in his left
hand. In reaching over to the small cog
wheels hisfoot slipped and he fell across the
driving rod, at the same time, in trying to
save himself he grabbed hold of the
throttle, pulling it wide open, starting up
the engine at full speed.
There is a key that protrudes about
two inches near the end of the driving
rod Patterson's jacket caught on this
and ne was hurled over the end of the
friction drum just ahead
Not an cutlery had been heard and death
had been apparently instantaneous. Be-
and extricated the mangled form with
considerable difficulty. The remains were
Immediately taken to the Morgue.
DR.. jeremiah Maher conducted a post
mortem examination. He found the
breast-bone torn away and in being torn
it was separated from all the ribs, which
were crushed out of all normal shape
The aorta was snapped is were all the
large veins. The left side of the face and
neck was also torn away. In DR.. Maher 8
opinion death had been instantaneous. At
the inquest tonight the Coroner's jury
brought in verdict of accidental death.
Deceased was a native of New Jersey,
aged 80 years. For some years he was
employed under the State Harbor Com
missioners, and was always regarded
careful and capable engineer He leaves
widow and five children-George, Joseph,
Tot and Emma Patterson and Mrs. A.
V. Clark, wife of City Trustee Clark Of
Alameda