The Montgomery advertiser. [volume] (Montgomery, Ala.) 1885-1982, 1904-06-29
MOMENT OF TERROR
PARENTS SEE WRECK OF CAR FILL
ED WITH CHILDREN.
Little Miss Addie spivey Sustafns
Broken Leg-Other Children Escape
safely from the Car.


A long car of the Montgomery Street
Railway Company. loaded WIN cniI.
dren. members of the Southside Baptlst
at the Genetta ditch on South HUI
street last night at 2 o'clock. ana was
partly wrecked.
of Mr.. and Mrs Thomas spivey. living
at ii3s South Decatur Street. in jump
ing from the car. sustained broken
leg Miss Carrie Roney and one or two
from the car during the panic sustain
ed slight bruises.
The accident occasioned intense ex-
element on Bellinger Heights and in
Cloverdale. The children who formed
the precious freight of this car came
from the homes of that section of the
city. The wreck occurred within plain
children on the car. AS they sat upon
their verandas In the cool of the even
ing they could see the approach of the
car filled to standing room with the
ing from a picnic at Boemfontaine.
Above the noise OF the car could be
heard the laughter and shouts of the
children.
AS the car crossed the bridge over
the Gennetta ditch the laughing and
the singing sank into sudden silence.
moment later frightful screams filled
the air. The car was seen to leave the
70 the sidewalk on the west side of
the bridge. Children were seen to
leap and fall from the side of the run
away car. Many of them rolled upon
were paralyzed with fear and alarm.
More than one mother Of children
upon the runaway car is said to have
tainted in the terror and excitement
or the moment. The disaster indicated
by the loose car and the panic stricken
children was not realized. however.
The nameless dread was worse than the
actual occurrence.
The car was brought up short at the
edge of the sidewalk by a pole of the
Montgomery Light and Water Power
Company The pole was smashed in
the ditch that divided the sidewalk
from the street. The car itself was but
slightly damaged. 1t is possible that
no one would have been injured had
the children been able to resist the fear
OF the moment and remained upon the
car. None of the children who remain
ed upon the car were bruised or in
1ured. Inspector M; o. Watson and Mo-
torman Kilebrew who were on the front
end of the car from the time 1t left
the track until 1t struck the telephone
post did not receive a scratch.
The behavior of the car is inexpli-
cable. No cause for its leaving the
track was found.
The car jumped the track about the
middle of the bridge which crosses the
gravelled street a distance of between
thirty and forty feet and then darted
of at right angle. The city's street
force has within the past two or three
days rebuilt the Genettas bridge at that
point. 1t is possible that in renovating
the bridge the tracks of the Montgom-
cry Street Railway Company were
thrown out of alignment, although the
center of the bridge over which the
car tracks run was not touched by the
city hands. That part of the bridge
was kept up by the street railway COM
pany. Inspector Watson of the Mont
gomery Street Railway Company said
that the bridge had been inspected by
the officers of the company within the
past week and found to be in excellent
condition.
The annual picnic of the South Side
Baptist Church Sunday School was held
yesterday. The children of the Sunday
School were carried to Bloemfontaine
in two special cars of the Montgom-
cry Street Railway Company. The
first car was one of the extra long open
cars, the second of average length.
The return trip was made late in the
afternoon. The cars were to be emp
tied of their passengers at the church
building on the corner of Hull Street
and Cramer Avenue. They were within 1
one block Of their destination when the
accident occurred.
The long car was in charge of Mo-
torman kilebrew and Conductor Cot
ton. To assist in the handling of the
children on the cars the management
of the company had sent along Inspec-
tor Watsona
Inspector Watson who was at the
side of the motorman when the acct
dent occurred, described 1t as follows:
TWO regular cars are operated on
the Cloverdale line. One of these cars
we passed at the switch south of South
Side. We had orders to go to Cramer
Avenue and unload our passengers at
the Church. where the second Clover
dale car was waiting for us at Cramer
Avenue. From the switch to the bridge
there is level stretch of track AS
we passed over the level track we were
not going at fast rate of speed. be-
cause we could see the other Cioverdale
car only block away. The motorman
mad Just turned off his current to be
certain that we would stop before we
reached the other car when the acct
dent happened. II the children had re-
manned upon the car not one would