Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-05-17
CRUSHED
TO DEATH
T. L. EHRHART. BURLINGTON
BRlDGEMAN, VICTIM OF FA.
tai ACCIDENT.
TWO OTHERS INJURED
TWO OTHERS INJURED
Men Were Working On Des Moines
Bridge and Were Caught by Falling
Timbers - Ehrhart Was Unmarried
and Lived AT Mt. Pleasant.

With his body crushed almost in two
by falling timbers, T. L. Ehrhart of
Mt. Pleasant, a workman employed in
the Burlington bridge gang at the
Des Moines river bridge, four miles
west of the city. was this morning
placed in the caboose of work train
and hurried at almost mile minute
speed into the city only to die as heI
was being carried from the train intoI
the Union depot. With him at thel
same time, was Ed. O'Neil who sus-
tained fractured left hand and Seth
Wallace, who was badly shaken up
and suffered several cuts and bruises
on the back part Of the head.
The Accident.
The accident occurred this morning
at about 8 o'clock, ,lbetween the first
and second concrete piers about
thirty feet from the east end of
the bridge. For several months
work has been carried on put
ting heavy concrete piers under the
bridge, removing the old woodwork
support and replacing it with heavy
steel girders and beams, resting on
these concrete piers The method Of
replacing the woodwork has been to
place the steel girder SO that it rests
on the ends of the piers. Then as the
old woodwork support of the bridge
is removed the girder is slipped along
the piers beneath the track and the
bridge proper until it rests in it's prop
er place.
Removing Old Frame Work.
Ehrhart, Wallace and O'Neil were
busy removing portions Of the old wood
frame work under the direction of
Foreman Alonzo Nsllans. Through
some niishap some OF the beams and,
material forming this old framework
/ fell to the ground, a distance.of about
eighteen feet carrying the men with it,.
O'Neil was badly stunned but in a few
moments was able to be about and re-
fused to return to the city. Wallace
was stunned and it was some time be-
fore he was able to get up at all.
Dies at Union Depot.
Ehrhart was pinned beneath the
timbers but was still alive. He was
extricated, placed in the caboose of the
work train and a hasty run to the city
was made. Every effort to ease the
pain of the injured man and
restore him to consciousness was
futile and as he was being
removed form the car and car
ried into the baggage room at the
Union depot the last spark of life went
out and he was carried into the room a
dead man.
Ehrhart's body was removed to Crow
: ley's undertaking parlors where Drs.
!! F. w. Mills, A. O. Williams and S. L.
Houck made post mortem eXamina-
, tion Death was found to have result.
ed from internal hemorrhages. Several
, ribs had been broken and the liver had
been crushed and it's bleeding caused
; death. In the opinion of the physicians
Ehrhart must have been struck by the
end of falling timber after he had
himself fallen to the ground. This
tim Der struck just above the waist and
on one side Of the body.
Others Injured
O'Neil was brought to the
{ city about IL o'clock and wa:
i found to have suffered only bat
: shaking up and broken hand. Wal
: lace, the other man who was on the
fatal timbers at the time that the ac
T cident occurred, suffered from three
) cuts and several bruises on the bach
of the head Wallace resides at 72s
North Ash street and O'Neil at 401
West Second street.
Ehrhart From Mt. Pleasant.
The dead man was about AZ year
Il hnn in, ,,>1o
the Burlington for long time. H
came originally from Mt. Pleasant. Aft
er the work on the Tracy cutoff wa
completed about three or four month
ago. he was transferred to the Ottum
wa division and has since that tim
been employed in the bridge gang O
the work at the Des Moines rive
bridge.
Was Single Man.
/ Ehrhart is single man and is
$ half brother Of Mrs. O. L. Clawson, VIII
e resides at 2S0 Mabel street. A flu
n sister Mrs. D. r. Thompson, reside
e in Ft. Madison and two half brother!
It Lee and Samuel Ehrhart reside in M
Il Pleasant.
n The Inquest.
- At 2:3O O'Clock this afternoon a CO
+ oner's jury composed of Henry Grub
H. M. Cockerill and J. G. Slaugh
= er viewed the remains at Crowley
= undertaking establishment and late
held a session at the court house {
which several of the workmen emplo
ed with Ehrhart and the physician
who performed the post mortem exam
ination were examined At the tim
IS of going to press the examination ha
:. moi been completed. The verdic
Judging from the testimony given s
farlwill probably be death due to pur
II oaucoc f/r ,,,L;1l