Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-09-12
CRASH ON ELEVATED
Crowded Oar Plunges Into
 New York Streets.
TWELVE DEAD AND FORTY INJURED

Eight Others So Badly Hurt That
 They Are Likely to Die-Train Was
 Derailed While Running at
 Full Speed.
 NEW YORK, Sept. 12.-Twelve pas sengers were killed, eight mortally hurt and more than forty injured yes terday in the worst wreck in the his tory of the elevated railroad in this city. The scene of the disaster, was the curve at the junction of the Ninth and Sixth avenue lines at Ninth ave nue and Fifty-third street.
 One explanation given is that the towerman had the switch set wrong and that seeing his mistake when the first car of the train and the first truck of the second car had taken the curve swung it back so that the other trucks continued down the Ninth avenue track until they were jerked on to the ties.
 Trainmen said, however, that it would be physical impossibility for the switchman to have changed the switch once the first car had struck the curve.
 The train was running nearly fifteen miles an hour and the momentum flung the second car in somersault off the structure to the street, where 1t rested end up. The third car balanced on the edge, its end reaching to the wall of the house on the southwest corner.
 Those in the first car were hurled into a struggling heap in the end. Sev- eral were flung by the fall into the street and the heavy car came on top of them.
 The bodies of the dead were fright fully mutilated. Fire alarms were sent in, and the reserves of all the nearby police stations were turned out to han dle the great crowd which gathered. Ambulances were called from every hospital in the city. The dead were taken to the West Forty-seventh street station. Four hours after the disaster service was resumed on both lines.
 The accident was caused by careless ness or incompetency. The switchman in the tower at the turn started to switch the Ninth avenue train to the Sixth avenue track. Had he, realizing his mistake, made no effort to remedy it no great damage would have been done except to his reputation as care ful employee. But as soon as he saw what he had done he swung the switch quickly, and in a second the crash had come.
 The first car of the train had passed over the Sixth avenue track and the motorman was slowing down, know ing that an error had been made, when the towerman threw the switch back. The first truck of the second car started around the curve, but the second truck continued in a straight line on to the Ninth avenue track until the coupling broke and the wheel fianges giving way under the strain left the track.
 The scene following the wreck was the. most horrible that has eomento New York since the Slocum disaster The passengers in the crowded car were flung into smothering, scream Ing heap, where they were crushed by falling timbers and Iron. Iron coming Into contact with the third rail set of a series of detonations and spread white and blue sheets ofs flame across the structure.
 The officers of the elevated railroad system were busy trying to fix the blame for the disaster. The police and coroner were energetic, too, and four arrests were made. The search was still being kept up for Paul Kelly, the of the train. who disappear ed after the accident. The men placed under arrest were Cornelius A. Jack son, the switchman at the curve; First Guard Timothy Hickman of 225 West One Hundred and Forty eighth street; Second Guard Bernard Clare and Third Guard Walter Berry. When Jackson was taken to the West Forty-seventh street station he said to Detective Glennon: "Yes, I turned that switch. My duty ended there. When the first car went the right way that ended my duty. If the whole structure went down and a thousand were killed l would not be responsible"
 Superintendent Hedley admitted that 30 far as could be judged from facts known he would look largely to the to explain the cause of the l accident.
 Tt would not be fair to either tower man or motorman." said Mir. Hedley. 1 'to fix the responsibility yet"
 Switchman Jackson told Captain Gal l lagher of the West Forty-seventh | street station the following story:
 q saw nothing but Sixth avenue sig | nals displayed on the train. Not only 1 were the lights on top of the motor car set for Sixth avenue. but the sign l which hangs on the platform railing | was a Sixth avenue sign. I set the switch for Sixth avenue, and that was all I was supposed to do. It isn't my l business to attend to the signals on the | train. If they are set wrong 1t isn't up ] to me; it's up to somebody else"