The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-09-12
TRAINS PLUNGE Dashed From Rails at Sharp Curve, Gar Crashes
 to the Street Below.
DOZEN DEAD; MANY INJURED
DREADFUL CATASTROPHE ON NINTH AVENUE ROAD.

Crowded Car Thrown Many Feet to the
 sidewalk. Through a Misplaced
 Switch--TerribIe Scenes of Suffering
 and Destruction - Great Crowds
 Gather at the Scene-RObbers at
 Work, Despite Clubbing by Police Switchman and MOtOrman, Held Re-
 sponsibIe--Latter Takes Flight to
 Avoid Arrest.
 New York, Sept. 1.-The death list of to-day's frightful accident on the Ninth avenue elevated railroad, when a ear crowded with early morning work CTS. on their way, down town pitched headlong into the street, stands at twelve. Three men are in hospitals with fractured skulls. One of these, who as yet remains unknown at Roose- welt hospital. is unconscious and not ex- pected to live long. More than a score were injured, many of them seriously.
 The cause of the accident and the immediate responsibility remain to be determined. The motorman of the wrecked train is a fugitive, while a sWitchrnan, conductor and four guards are under arrest. The switchman is charged with manslaughter, and the traintnen are held as witnesses. To- night Coroner Scholer, who is working announced that the switchman's bond had been placed at s5, 900, and those of the witnesses at $100 each.
 The mistake, which caused the acci- dent the worst in the history of the overhead railroads of New York, came when a southbourd train of the Ninth avenue was switched to the Sixth ave hue line at the Fifty third street juno dion. From Harlem south to F'ifty- third street the Ninth avenue trains and the Sixth avenue trains, aiternat- ing, travel over the same track. At the junction of Ninth avenue and Fif- ty-third street the Sixth avenue trains then abruptly turn to the east, pass through Fifty3third street, and go on Sixth avenue. The Ninth avenue trains on the other hand continue on nearly direct line. A switchman stationed near the junction throws the train to the Ninth avenue or the Sixth avenue line as the route of the train is indicat- ed by his forward light signals.
 fThe speed of the wrecked train was such that it could not make the turn onto the Sixth avenue tracks. and re- main on the rails.
 The swftchman says that the train displayed Sixth avenue signals and he switched 1t for the turn. On the other hand some of the trainmen claimed that the sWitchman made mistake, and threw east a train which should have been allowed to continue on the straight track. The motorman expect ing a clear track on the direct line on the Ninth avenue, or possibly disre- garding the warning signal that the switch was open, rushed his train along at 8 high rateSo speed.
 The first car swung around the right angle curve holding to the rails because of the weight of the train behind. Then the strain became too great. The coup lings broke, the second car was hurled about almost end to end and to the horror of those who looked on from be- low pitched into the street. The first indication people on the sidewalk had that an accident was occurring was an unusually loud lrumbling along the overhead structure
 Looking up they saw a, shower of sparks, then followed the sound of splitting timebrs. Suddenly the outer guard rail of the railroad structure gave way. There was startling rain flo human bodies and then with a deaf ening crash the heavy car fell to the street. For an instant the vehicle stood fairly on end. Then the sides gave way as If they were made of pasteboard, belching out a mass of humanity.
 Those passengers who had not jump ed from the platforms and windows be- fore the plunge came were thrown into 8 forward end of the car. As the iniur- ed men and women were struggling to free themselves the heavy front trucks of the third car of the train crashed down upon them, nortally injuring sev- eral. The body of this car was sus- pended, one end remaining on the ties and the other resting against the fire escape of corner building.
 The scenes following the accident were typical of all great catastrophes. Huge crowds were soon on the ground and the first work of the hastily summoned po- lice reserves was directed to clearing a way for the effective rescue of the pent up passengers remaining in the undemolished portion of the car. Every ambulance in Manhattan was called, and the injured and dead were hurried away as soon as they could be freed from the wreckage or picked up from where they had fallen. Three alarms of fire brought many engines to the scene A slight fire caused by burning insulation was quietly extinguished, and the firemen set to work chopptng out the dead and injured. The task was (continued on Second Page.)