The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-11-18
With Blazing Front 1t CoIIides
With Another
SIX PASSENGERS INJURED
Montgomery Motorman Could Not
Work Brakes, But Kept Cool and
Shielded Young Lady When
the Crash Came.

| renee street hill, with the front END
ablaze with blue fire, and the occupants
screaming and struggling to be free of
its confinement was a scene that greeted
men and women on the streets of the
city at o'clock this morning.
After dash of three blocks a crash
! into a another car in it's way, and a run
of 100 feet on paving brick after leaving
the rails, the runaway wound up wreck,
with several persons more or less pain
| fully injured.
When the smoke of the smash-up
cleared away, the following were found to
be hurt:
M. E. Peoples, injured, slight.
Charles Johnson, colored, hurt about
head and body.
Meade Bozeman. slight injury of hips.
J. A. HUFF. slight on ankle.
Miss Evelyn Allen, shock.
Allen Carleton, colored mail carrier,
about hip and arm, probably serious.
The accident was the result of the
brake failing to work and the burning out
of the overhead switch, thus making 1t
impossible either to hold by the brake or
to get current for the reverse lever.
Caused Excitement.
The collision was between Mobile
street and Highland avenue car, No. 70,
with Perry street car No. SO on Lawrence
street and Dexter avenue. 1t was the
cause of much disturbance during the
early morning hours by reason of reports
that were circulated concerning the ex-
tent of the injuries sustained by the
parties involved.
The accident occurred on the switch
Just off Dexter avenue on South Lawrence
street Motorman o. b. Blacker of Perry
street car No. SO, whose conductor was
Shepard Gardner, was taking his car
from Dexter avenue to the Lawrence
street switch, with only a few passengers
aboard. when 1t collided with car No. 70
westbound before the switch on Law
renee street could be reached by Motor
man Blacker.
J. G. Arbery, the motorman of No. 70,
whose conductor was w. L. Ingram, was
unable to stop his car. The fogginess OF
the morning and the dampness of the
steel tires tended to add increased mo-
mentum to the runaway car
BY reason of the force of the contact
of the two cars, the downward car, No.
10 had its convex vestibule smashed to
an almost concave, the violence of which
collision resulted in the sending of the
Perry street car almost to the middle OF
Dexter avenue on it's backward progress
without causing 1t to leave the track, and
itself No. 49, jumping the track and
stopping across the street.
Bosh of the cars were badly smashed
and demolished window panes being
broken and the whole OF the cars bear
ing some mark of the collision. The front
platform of both cars were badly dam
aged and things in general pretty badly
defOrmed.
Cause of Accident.
The car coming toward the main part of
the city, the runaway, the runaway was
in charge, as noted. of Motorman Ar
berry. AS he pulled up to the top of the
Adams street hill he tried his hand brake,
but found he could not get ii to work.
1t was caught in some way and would
not tighten the brake shoes to the wheels,
- as hard as he v,,ulG.
The car thus released, began to move
rapidly and Motorman Arbery was seen
by the passengers 10 reach for his re-
verse lever. At once there was crash
as the level flew back He threw it off
again Immediately. when there was a
splitter and flash and the throw off
was afire
Then 1t was seen by all who knew any
thing about cars. that all was off and
they were in for a wreck Passengers
stood up and a number jumped off, but
the pace soon became so swift others
could not do so without certain injury.
Motorman Cool.
Motorman Arbery stepped back into the
ear to do what he could to quiet the
passengers and seeing that there was go
ing to be a wreck, threw himself in front
of Miss Allen to help break the shock,
which he knew was coming.
When the shock came Mr.. Arbery was
thrown upon the floor and into the trap
which covers the motors under the car
it having been thrown open He was
pulled from this perilous position after
the cars were stopped.
Reports of the accident were spread
over the city during the early hours of
the day and many Were to the effect that
several had been killed Friends of those
who were on the cars, or were thought
to be on them. came down town or rushed
out from the business houses looking for
them Ambulances were called out, but
out of the way by the wrecking crews
and the tracks were cleared in a short
time.
The car which came down the hill
struck the other car and glanced to the
street about 100 feet from Dexter ave-
nue. 1t then ran on the ground to Dex-
ter and was badly torn up.
1t is understood that the reason of the
failure of the hand brake to work wa
that the nut by which the chain is at
tached to the rod under the car caught
ON beam under the car and could not
be pulled off save by going under the