River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1904-07-14
FATAL BLUNDER.
Made by a Towerman and Wreck Of
Excursion Train Follows
Seventeen Killed.

New York, July 11.-Fourteen per-
sons were killed and about so injured
in a. collision which occurred at Mid
vale. N. j., just before noon Sunday,
when a regular passenger train on the
Greenwood Lake branch of the Erie
railroad ran into an excursion train
that had stopped to take water. All
the dead and injured lived in Hobo
ken, Jersey City and New York.
The dead are: Henry Otterstedt,
Hoboken; William Weidemeyer, Ho-
boken; William Rentz. New York;
Mrs. Anna Lemkohl and daughter
Agnes, New York; William Laen, Ho.
boken; Henry Becker, Hoboken; Will
liam Rohfing. Hoboken; William
Winderknechl, Hoboken; Henry Koch,
Hoboken; Isadore Mauser, Hoboken;
Frank Holnwedde1l, Hoboken; George
McDermott, Hoboken; William Wis.
tow, Hoboken; George Sheer, Hobo
ken; E. K. Kelley, Jersey City; boy,
name supposed to be patterson.
The ACCIDENT is believed to have re-
suited from a tower operator having
lowered his signal too soon, and this
was admitted by D. w. Cooke. general
passenger agent of the Erie railroad,
who gave out statement in which he
said: 'The operator in the tower
failed to set the block signal against
the train following"
The train which was run into was a
special carrying members of the First
Plattdeutcher association, of Hoboken,
on their annual outing, and had 500
passengers. 1t consisted of IL cars
and two engines. The first engine had
taken water and the train had moved
UP and stopped with the second engine
beside the tank when the regular train
drew near The fiagman of the special
signalled the engineer of the oncom-
ing train, but owing to curve in the
road his flag was not seen until too
late
It is claimed thatathe engineer of the
regular train had slowed down to
about ten miles an hour before he
crashed into the special, but his en-
CINE tore through the rear car the
greater part of it's length and drove
the forward end of that car into the
car ahead. The killed and injured were
in these two cars The wreckage did
not catch fire and the work of taking
out the dead and manned was accom-
plished quickly.
The passengers from the uninjured
coaches ran back and joined in the
work, and the residents OF Midvaie,
many of whom had heard the crash,
assisted them. The Ia dead were soon
laid beside the track and the injured
were carried to the nearby houses.
While physicians were being sent for,
women of .Midvale brought bandages
and other articles that could be used
in caring for the injured An engine
and cars were sent from Little Falls
to the scene of the wreck and as rap
idly as possible the most seriously
hurt were prepared for transportation
by train to Little Falls, and thence to
Jersey City or Hoboken. The less Sc
verely hurt were continued under
treatment in Midvale until later in the
day All those hurt were eventually
taken either to their homes or to hos
pitfalls.
The engineer and fireman of the reg
ular train disappeared from the scene
just after the accident They both as-
capped injury by jumping just before
the crash. The operator in the tower
was Walter Richards. He would make
no statement and was relieved and left
the scene soon after the accident.