The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1905-09-15

New York, September 1.-THE
death list of tOday's accident on the
Ninth Avenue Elevated railroad, when
a car crowded with early morning
workers on their way down town,
pitched headlOng into the street, stands
at twelve. Three men are in hospitals
with fractured skulls. One Of these,
who as yet remains unidentified at
Roosevelt hospital is unconscious, and
not expected to live. More than two
score Of persons were injured, many
of them seriously.
MOTORMAN A FUGITIVE.
The cause of the accident and the
immediate responsibility remain to be
settled. The mOtOrman of the wrecked
trt a is a fugitive, while a switchman,
conductor and four guards are under
arrest. The switchman is charged
with m~anslaughter and the train men
are held as witnesses.
Tonight Coroner Scholer, who has
undertaken the work of fixing the
blame for the wreck, announced that
the s~witchman's bond had been placed
at $1,000, and those of the witnesses
at 500 each.
STORY OF THE DISASTER
Whatever may have caused the mis-
take, the accident, the worst in h his
tory of the overhead railroads in New
York, came when a southbound train
on the Ninth avenue line was switch
ed off to the Sixth vel line at the
Fifty-third street junction. The mo-
tOrman, expecting a clear track on the
direct line of Ninth avenue, or disre-
garding the warning signal that the
switch was open, rushed his train
along at a RICH rate of speed. h first
car swung around the right angle
curve holding to the rails because of
the weight of the train behind. Then
the strain became too great, The
couplings broke, the second car was
whirled about almost end for end, and
to the horror of those who looked on
from below, pitched into the street.
The first indication people OIL the
sidewalk had of the accident was a
loud rumbling along the overhead
SlI uCIuIS- IIOOhlIS up lhSS so"
shower of sparks. then followed split
ting timbers. Suddenly the after
guard rail of the railroad structure
gave way, a score of bodies were hurl-
ed through space, and with a deafen-
ing crash the car fell to the street.
For an instant it stood fairly on end,
then the sides gave way as if they
were made of p~a3Je-board, belchins
ont - ,,o-c Of humanity Tb0Sn mas
sengers who had not jumped from plat
form and windows before the plunge
came, were thrown into a mass at the
forward end of the car. All the injured
men and women were struggling to
free themselves, the heavy front trucks
of the third car on the train fell al
most in their midst as the car itself
jumped partly off the elevated struc-
ture was wedged against a building at
the southeast corner of Ninth avenue
and Fifth-third street.
FIRST WORK OF RESCUE
Huge crowds were soon on the scene
and the first work of the hastily sum-
mOned police reserves was directed to
clearing away, for the effective rescue
of the passengers pinned down by the
wreckage. Almost every ambulance In
Mammalian was anu Tie III
jured and dead were hurried away
with all speed.
Three alarms of fire brought many
engines to the Gene. A slight fire
caused by burning insulation was
quickly eXtinguished, and the firemen
set to work chopping out the dead n
injured.
The task was not an easy one for
h heavy car in falling had almost
completely buried pedestrians in its
wreckage. At least one was killed out
right in this way, while Policeman
Henry Aitkens, who was standing di-
rectly under the elevated structure, is
among those most seriously injured.
Eight persons were dead when taken
out of the wreck and four died later at
hospitals.
LIST OF THE DEAD.
Jacob M. Anspach, a merchant and
member of the Newark, n. j., board
of trade.
Ernest P. Schiebel, In electrician.
Theodore Morris. colored.
John Cochrane.
Solomon Neugass, employed by the
Mutual Chemical Company.