The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-05-23
TWENTY INJURED IN
 WRECK ON ELEVATED
OYER 4 HUNDRED NARROWLY ESCAPE DEATH OR SERI-
 oUS INJURY

Only Best of Good Fortune Prevents q
 Terrible Tragedy-After the Crash
 the Ends of Shattered Cars Hang Far
 Over Side of the Elevated Structure
 at One of the Highest Points on the
 Line-Few More Inches and They
 Would Have Gone Over.
 New York, May 22.-Twenty persons were injured, six of them so seriously that they wel sent t hospitals, and more than a hundred persons narrowly escaped death or serious injury to-day when a swiftly moving train crashsai into two others on the high eleva structure on the Third avenue line 133d street and Alexander avenue.
 Only the best of good fortune pre-. vented terrible tragedy. After tn. crash the ends of shattered cars hung far over the side of the elevated strqlc- ture at one of the highest points on the line. Had they moved a few inch es more they would have pitched to the ground far below with frightful results. Good fortune also kept the wrecked cars free of the heavily charged third rail.
 As they bounded from the track they rolled away from the deadly rail and settled down, safely but insecurely, at the most distant point possible on the narrow trestle. Had the cars fallen on the third rail they might easily have taken fire with serious results to many of the passengers.
 Two trains were standing on the tres- tie waiting for the drawbridge over the Harlem river to close when third train swung around a curve and and crashed into them. The motor car Eof the third train and the rear car of the second train were smashed and thrown half around and the other cars were tossed about and some of them overturned. Passengers were thrown violently to the floors of the cars and many of them were severely cut by glass which flew from the Shattered windows.
 The scenes which followed were wild. beyond description. Men and women fought to escape from the cars which they seared might pitch to the street below any minute. A fire alarm brought several ladder companies to the scene, but by the time they had ar rived nearly every man who had been on the train had reached the ground by scrambling down the iron pillars which support the elevated structure. The firemen carried down several women and number of persons who had been injured too severely to help themselves. Among the passengers in one of the wrecked trains were several men and women who retained their presence of mind and did everything possible to as- sist those less fortunte than them selves One of these was Miss Anna. Wall, trained nurse of College Point, l.. I. Miss Wall dressed the wounds of several severely injured persons. tear ing to pieces her own white petticoat for bandages. Speaking of the scene when the trains crashed Miss Wall said:
 When the crash came the men in the car acted like beasts. They made mad rush for the doors. and paid no attention to the women who had been thrown to the floor by the shock. One man climbed through window and another tore a woman,s skirt off in his desperate efforts to get out.
 q saw one woman with a baby ifl hen arms pleading with a man to take the child and save it. but he replied:
 i Why, I've got all can do to take care of myself. T
 The motornan of the rear train has been arrested and will be held pending an investigation of the cause of the dis aster.