Los Angeles herald., 1905-03-14
HURLED To DEATH
IN SWOLLEN RIVER
SEVENTH STREET BRIDGE IS
TORN AWAY
Pedestrians Carried Away Toward
the Sea by swlrIlne Waters.
Believed Two Men Were
Drowned
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water. Suddenly came the swell and,
with a tremble that sent the watchers
flying in terror toward the land, the
great structure rose lightly from the
piers and then sank down, with the
soft sob of satisfaction from the water
as the only accompaniment. Then with
the great force Of the raging river be-
hind 1t, the bridge and piers crashed,
shattered and washed out into the
stream.
For a moment the terrified spectators
or shore watched the swirl of water
over the place, and then the despair
ing faces of two young men appeared
in the water and an arm reached
feebly upward as though for the assist
ance that did not go out to it.
Negro Would Save Them
The next minute officers and people
were on the broken timbers or in the
shallow water at the end of the bridge,
carrying the victims to safety. A ne
gro bystander dashed down the river
in the hope Of catching the bodies Of
the two young men. The current was
too violent and just after reaching the
Ninth street bridge the negro caught
a last glimpse of the bodies as they
were tossed by the waters and then
gave up in despair.
OF the fourteen watchers on the
bridge all have been accounted for. A
delivery wagon of the Los Angeles Ice
and Cold Storage company was just
drawing onto the bridge as the flooring
started to settle. At the unusual rum
bling the horse became frightened and
turned and dashed for safety. The two
occupants of the wagon escaped by
jumping.
Six watchers were on the center span
of the bridge. while others were on the
west span. When the crash came and
the bridge toppled over the heavy tim
bers which were hurled from their
fastenings caused most of the damage,
injuring the six and throwing the two
men into the center of the stream.
Mrs. Webb, Jacob Baughman and
Leonard Carmichael were standing
within a few feet of each other and
they were found in that position,
pinned beneath timbers. Carmichael
was unconscious and Mrs. Webb and
Baughman were groaning and en-
deavorng to escape.
IT went out early to see the water,
said Baughman. Il work in coal
yard near the bridge, and as 1 saw
that it would be some time before the
work whistle blew 1 decided to wait
awhile. AS I leaned over the edge of
the bridge watching the water, / sud-
denly felt a slight trembling under
meath me. l leaped to my feet and
started to run. Next to me was the
woman and the young man, and l
heard them screaming. I was bending
low and thought that 1 was just about
to reach safety when suddenly some
thing struck me in the shoulder and
all was black before me. Realizing
that l might be hurled into the water,
1 tried to regain my footing, but it was
an awful task, and when the beam
partly settled on me I gave it up and
waited until the officers pulled me out
and sent me to the hospital"
Victim Tells of Accident
'I had driven out to see the river, -
said young Carmichael, land hitched
the team before going on the bridge.
1 was watching the water when the
bridge started to settle, and I ran for
my life. Something seemed to strike me
while I was Jumping through the air
as all remember was that l was
lifted into the ambulance and sent to
the hospital. find that a sharp cut
in my hat corresponds to slx-inch
cash in my head and suppose that
some beam or sharp stick caught me- "
Clifford Linthal was one of the
lucky few who escaped with slight in
juries. He was standing on the south
side of the bridge on the east span
Next to him were two young men
laughing and talking about the river
Both young men carried lunch buckets,
and 1t is supposed they were employed
somewhere In the neighborhood of the
bridge Neither of the young men can
be found, and 1t is supposed that they
were the two whose bodies were seen
in the river following the catastrophe
The police spent the afternoon
searching the wreckage. but were un-
able to find trace OF the young mems
bodies. A patrol was stationed below