The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1905-10-04
Occurred In Rush Hour. ~

The Ninth avenue train left the
FNfty-ninth street station at O'clock
1t consisted OF five cars. all of which
were crowded. many passengers stand
ing in the aisles and on the platform.
These trains take the crossing and
switches at Hfty-third street without
slowing up. aS there is an upgrade to
the station at Fiftieth street The Or
der to Sixth avenue trains is that they
come to a full stop at Fifty-fourth
street and remain stationary until they
get the signal from the tower that the
line is clear. They are supposed to
round the dangerous curve at very
slow speed
The train was running at full speed.
The switch was set for the curve. The
first car cleared the curve. Then there
was a grinding and crunching Of TIM
bers, and the second car slowed around
and was torn off its trucks. The third
car with the weight of the remaining
two behind it bumped with full force
into the one ahead and sent it flying
from the tracks into the street below.
AS the car fell it turned completely
over. and its forward platform struck
the sidewalk with a crash that could
be heard for blocks. The rear plat
form remained suspended against the
framework Of the elevated road. The
trucks OF the third car were hurled
from the track through the bottom OF
the second car, adding to the havoc.
and the bodies OF the first and third
cars came together with crash. The
car which had been thrown from tho
structure remained suspended at an
angle of forty-five degrees, and the
passengers in it were hurled as through
O great shute to the forward end.
which rested on the sidewalk.
The great mass Of men and women
hurled forward fought for freedom and
screamed madly. Under the wrecked
forward end of the car lay the bodies
of several men who had been caught
under the wreck when it struck the
sidewalk
In all Incredibly short time an I'm.
nense crowd had gathered. Volunteers
set to work to extricate the dead and
injured lying in huddled mass in the
forward part of the car. Men and
women, frighlfully injured, crawled
through the car windows and through
the hole in the roof and fell to the
street unconscious. 1t was bediam
of confusion in which the rcscuers
worked as best they could.
The forward end Of the car tore
hole in the nagging i'll the sidewalk i'll
front Of the drug store at the southeast
corner of Fifty-third street and Ninth
avenue. A part Of the car tore its way
through the double show window,
smashing the glass and sending
shower Of sharp missiles over persons
in the street and the passengers i'm
prisoned in the car. BY a margin OF
only q few inches the car escaped
striking the main pillar of the four
story house en- the corner. Had the
car struck this pillar there is little
doubt that the whole fOur-story struc-
ture on the corner would have tumDled
down.
The third car of the train, hurled
forward by the weight Of those behind
it. was showed over the elevated struc-
ture and it's forward end was forced
through the window Of the apartment
of Mrs. James c. Grove, who lives
above the drug store. The car rocked
for a moment and seemed as If about
to fall into the street. Then it settled.
it's forward end held by the sill of the
window and the fire escape, and hung
suspended like O bridge across the
street. The frantic passengers clam
bered out of the windows and along the
roof into the apartments OF Mrs. Grove,
and thence to the street.
When the wrecking crew arrived.
all the injured had been taken out OF
the car and hurried to Roosevelt, New
York, Bellevue and Flower Hospitals.
the greatest number going to Roose-
yelt, which was only six blocks away
The dead were Jacob w. Anspach,
Joseph Bach, John Corcoran. Emma
| Coucnhoven. James Cooper, Louis
! Bberle, William Lee, Theodore Morris.
| Cornelius Mccarthy Solomon Neil
| gass. Ernest P. Seheibl and Albert
| Webster.
The number injured ran into scores.