The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1905-09-15
MANY FATALITIES IN
AN ELEVATED WRECK
Train Is DeraiIed and One o,
the Cars Falls to the
Pavement Below.
swITcHMAN is BLAMED
.ae Threw the Switch at the wrons
Time-Those in the Car That
Crashed to the Ground Were
Piled in Horrible Mass.

New York, Sept. 13.-Eight persons
were killed and more than forty in
jured, four fatally, by derailment of an
elevated railroad train at Fifty-third
street and Ninth avenue today. The
train was a s~outhbound Ninth avenue
local. 1t is alleged the switchmen
blundered and threw the switch after
one car had passed over it, causing
part of the train to go on one track
and balance on another.
One car left the track n fell into
the street, landing upside down. Pas
structure were able to reach the street
by climbing through windows OF adj
jacent buildings.
The dead:
E. P. sCHETBLE. New York.
j. n. HAUSPACH. member Newark
board of trade.
S. NEGUS. negro.
JOHN MORRIS. negro.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN.
CORNELIUS M'CARTY, laborer.
WILLIAM LEES. electrician.
JOHN COCHRANE.
SOLOMON NUGAST.
JOSEPH BACH.
Coroner Scholer has caused the arrest
of j. w. Johnson, conductor of the
train; Timothy Higginson, j. McDavitt,
w. L. Berry and d. Clark, guards.
Motorman Paul Kelly and c.. A. Jack
inson, the s~witchman, quickly disa.p-
peared.
Later switchman dickinson was ar
rested at his home. He maintained he
had set the switch right.
Car Badly Splintered.
The a struck the street on its end
with a frightfui crash, the bottom and
sides being shivered into splinters.
Passengers. piled upon one another in
q great %shrieking, struggling mass, but
as the sides of the car gave way those
not seriously hurt were able to extri-
cate themselves and render aid to 9th.
ers less fortunate.
Excitement among those in the de-
rallied cars on the structure. as they
realized what had happened. became
intense. The men. deeming the motor
man was responsible for the wreck, at
tackled him and tried to peat him. He
was dragged from his seat, but he
shouted for fair play and convinced
the CROWD that it was the switchman
and not he that was responsible.
Nugast'S head was severed from his
body by a sharp piece of board. Coroner
Scholer says he is satisfied the wreck
was due to criminal neglect of Switch
man Jackillson.
Before he great crowds collected by
n news of the wreck could be cleared
away the police were compelled to use
their heavy night sticks on a number
OF men who We're attempting to snatch
1eMeITry or other v%aluables from the
Victims. The officers had no time to
make arrests, %contenting themselves
with drubbing the miscreants heavily
as they could.
The "c~euouctor's Statement.
Conductor Johnson this afternoon
made a detailed statement to Police
Inspector Flood. He said:
oE ST NO ~, = L~A G.-% A.
second cal. We had just left Thirty
ninth street and were going at a fair
rate of speed, as it is a long run to
Fiftieth street. The car was pretty
well crowded. There was a number
of men on the platform and in the aisle
of the second car. There was a num-
Der of shop girls who were laughing
and Joking.
When We reached the curve the first
a went on and the second and third
cars went together like a jackknife,
sticking right up in the air and prac-.
tically closing against each other. In
consequence. from Where 1 was on the
front platform of the second car at the
start, ! was dropped to the res plat
form of the first car. Then the second
car dropped to the street. / held on
to the iron rail like death, and was
straight up in the air. l saw girls and
women climbing over the seats of the
a that they night escape. ,
Being an old ~railroader, I pulled out
my watch and looked at it. 1t was ex-
actly 7:G6 a. M. The signals were
set wrong; that was the trouble. They
We're set green and yellow, which is
for a Sixth avenue t-ain."
Bail was accepted fcf all the rail-
road men under arrest late last night.
Cause of the Accident.
General Manager Hedley asserts that
the switch was not moved after the
train reached it and that the train
jumped the track because of the speed
with which it took the curve, which
was not banked and was intended to
be taken slowly.
sEhITAElH Tn THE rpucr