The San Francisco call., 1904-08-17
Crowded Passenger Cars Run
Into a Freight Train at
Mill Valley Junction and
Windows Are Shattered
TWO ARE INJURED
IN THE WRECKAGE
Though Cars Are Telescoped,
Only One Passenger and
Engineer w. L. Ritchie
Receive Severe Injuries

The San Rafael local on the North
Shore road crashed into the suburban
freight train yesterday at Mill Valley
Junction. The motor car of the local
almost demolished the locomotive Of
the freight train and was piled up on a
fat car.
There were about sixty passengers on
the local. Only one of these sustained
any serious injuries. Mrs. S. Serf Of
San Rafael was hurled from her seat
and 5ammed against the wall Of the
motor car. Her shoulder was dislo-
Gated. Engineer w L. Ritchie of the
freight train was pinned in the wreck
age of his cab. One of his legs was
fractured.
The accident was caused by Motor
man Z. T. Wosser's disregard of the
danger signal displayed at the station
He should have brought his train to a
full stop. Instead of doing so he
whirled past the station at full speed.
The switchman, J. F. Tobin, had left
the switch open, and the electric train
collided with the freight. This is the
explanation given by the company s
officers.
CLIMB THROUGH WINDOWS.
Confusion reigned in the cars. wom-
en- and children climbed out Of the
coaches through the shattered windows.
Many Of them narrowly missed tread
ing on the deadly third rail.
That there were only two injured
seems miraculous. So terrific was the
impact that twisted masses of iron
from the wrecked locomotive were
strewn along the track for several
hundred yards, There were two oil cars
in the freight train. These were hurled
from the rails and badly battered. Had
the oil become ignited the disaster
would have been terrible. Fortunately
the fire in the engine was smOthered
in the wreckage.
Stanley Armstrong, an artist, was in
one of the cars. He extricated several
frightened women from the wreck.
Armstrong says:
We approached Mill Valley Junction
al a lively rate of speed. There was a
sudden crash and 1 was thrown from
my seat. l think it is a miracle that
some of us were not killed"
Ritchie. the injured engineer of the
freight train, was taken to the Taylor
Sanatorium in this city.
SHOULDER DISLOCATED.
Mrs. Serf Immediately after the acci-
dent was taken from the wrecked coach
ana brought 10 SduSdltO. She was
suffering from nervous shock and pain
the shoulder was dislOcated and that
she had possibly sustained internal in
juTies. After the shoulder had been set
she was removed on one of the regular
trains to DR.. Howitt's sanatorium in
San Rafael.
superintendent Braswell of the North
Shore line was q very busy and a very
nervous official yesterday afternoon
and could hardly check his hurry fol
an interview. There had not been Sc
rious smash-up on the Marin coast
lines for more than a year.
1T is one of those cases." said he
where an experienced and reliable
railroad man misses the signal ht
should catch and goes wrong with hi!
train. There is little to be said excep
that the motor engineer, Wosser, die
not observe the semaphore set as a dan
ger sign in time to stop his car before
! it went into the suburban freight traiI
standing on the sidetrack. Wosser die
catch sight of the signal and did checl
up as he was switching over toward
Ritchies train, and this materially les
sened the force Of the collision. I hav,
not heard the motorman's statement
but believe he says that he could no
see the signal till he was down on tn,
switch"
ANOTHER CAUSE ASSIGNED.
Miss NJ Barrett, a resident of Sac
Il