The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1903-07-09
Car on the Interurban Line Leaves the
Track and Oashes into a Trolley
Pole Beside the Road.
PASSENGERS BADLY FRIGHTENED.
Sunday Afternoon Accident on the Inter
urban Road Results in Exciting Experi-
ences but No One Badly Injured.

One of the most serious wrecks that
ever occurred on the Milwaukee, Ra-
cine and Kenosha Electric Railway oc-
Cured shortly after two O'Clock Sun
day afternoon when one of the large
new cars of the company jumped the
track throwing the passengers from
the seats and slightly injuring quite a
number of people. The most serious
ly injured were Katharine Drake the
little daughter of Mr.. ana Mrs. Frank
Drake of Wisconsin street, and man
by the name of Kimball residing on
East Market street.
The accident happened at point
two miles north of the Kenosha station.
The car had left Kenosha on schedule
time and was simply packed with pas
sengers, fully seventy-fve passengers
being crowded into it. The accident
came without warning and just as the
little curve near the DeBerge farm was
being rounded the car jumped from
the track and plunged into a telephone
pole along the right of way. With the
shock the passengers we're thrown
from their seats into a mass in the
center of the car. The entire front of
the car was smashed and the broken
glass fell like rain about the heads of
the passengers. AS soon as possible
some of the wiser passengers managed
to reach the door of the car and the
bruised and bleeding we're taken out
into the open air where they rapidly
recovered. Several of the women pas
seugers tainted while others buried
under the mass of humanity in the
middle Of the car were all but exhaust
ed when they were removed.
The little Drake girl was buried
under the center of the pile of people
and when she was taken out she was
unconscious. Later she was taken TO
a house near the scene of the accident
and recovered in a short time. Both
the motorman and conductor escaped
unin jured.
The car was complete wreck, and
the tracks of the company were so
blocked that it was impossible to get q
car through between Racine and Ke-
nosha. For many hours the service
was interfered with, but cars were
running this afternoon.
The accident is supposed to have
resulted from the spreading Of the
rails, and none of the passengers place
any blame on the motorman or the
conductor. The agents Of the company
hurried to kenosha last night and
took the names of the people who had
been bruised in the accident, and it is
probable that some settlement will be
made at once.
The loss to the company will be
heavy one. The car wrecked was one
of the new cars which had just been
put into service. The car when built
cost the company in the neighborhood
of eight thousand dollars, and the
damage to it will be fully three thous-
and dollars. The wrecked car was
pulled into Racine today.
The wreck proved to be a great nui-
sance to the travelling public, who are
accustomed to use the cars. Many
people came down from Racine and
were forced to walk from the scene of
the wreck to Kenosha. Daring the
evening BUSES were secured to meet
the incoming trains, but many people
went to farm houses and hired rigs be-
fore the busses arrived.