The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1899-04-12
Six Seriously and
Twelve Some Injured.
The Superintendent Of Con.
structiOn Arrested.

New York, April 1.-The temporary
superstruoture of the big Willis avenue
bridge, now being built over the Harlem
river, collapsed this afternoon, killing
four men and seriously injuring six. oEe
of whom will die. Twslve or more Others
also received injuries of more or less Sc
rious nature. The dead are:
Beatlie, Lewis.
Delaney, william, 40 years old.
Delaney, Walter, son of above, % years
old.
Grady, Walter son of above. 81 years
old.
Grady, Thomas. mason's helper.
The most seriously injured are:
Purseley, Charles. IL years, skull fract-
ured, will probably die, Harlem hospital.
Perry, Joseph, "a, head crushed.
Sheehan, Daniel, 20, hurt about the
head. arms crushed.
Wolfe, 5. r., crushed about the body
and head.
Medic. Simon. 2s years, crushed.
Gaines, Walter, 80 years, crushed.
The others injured were workmen en-
gagged on the bridge at the time the acci-
dent occurred. Some Of them were
crushed under the falling timbers, while
others suffered from the effects of the
fall and immersion in the water.
The accident occurred at $50 O'Clock
and was caused by too great weight
being put on the travelling derrick that
crossed the superstructure. The super
structure connected the north shore sus-
| tanning wall with "a pier and was a
fimsey affair. stretching sou feet across
| deep water, built in three sections. one
above another to height of about ~
| feet. Over this massive travelling
crane or carrier was operated. heavy
| lot of steel beams was being sent out on
| the crane when the timbers gave way
| and the entire structure went down with
| a crash. AS the supporting timocrs be
gan to give, the heavily laden crane ran
rapidly forward for q short distance and
toppled into the river. AS Il went down
| the upright it crushed into the workmen,
striking the Delaneys and Beatlie, killing
them instantly and terribly mangline
their bodies.
\ Many of the men were carried down In
| the wreck. Only II few succeeded In get
ting to the pier. the majority either falling
into the water or into the tangle OF iron
and wood work. The shrieks 6f the in
jured and the cries for help intensified
the excitement, but the work OF rescue
was not long in beginning.
Walter Delaneys body was not taken
ont of the ruins until after nightfall and
| Thomas Grady's body was not found
| for AN hour more.
| Before the bodies of any OF the killed
could be reached, the men had to do much
work with saws and axes and 1t wal
| made especially difficult since the res
cuers had to work under the surface oi
the water. Soon after the finding OF
Grady's body, the time-keeper compared
\ the list with that made by the poiic'
and said that everybody had been &C
| counted for. He WAS greatly excited
however, and it may be- that the opin
| ions of some of the men that more todie,
may be found, are we'll founded.
| The contract for the erection OF thu
| briige was originally awarded to tn,
Leonard Foley construction company an {
by them almost Immediately assigned
I TO John p. Rogers q Son.
| The contract for the bridge proper wa
awarded by Rogers s. Son to the Edge
more Bridge works of Wilmington, Del
1t Is said. however, that the superstruc
ture was built by Rogers az son and the
the Wilmington firm mad nothing TO dt
with it and are not responsible. The
work was Immediately under the super
| intendency OF James Headrick and h'
was placed under arrest.
| Coroner Lynch of the Bronx at one,
began an investigation and will continus
1t until the responsibility is placed.