Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-10-29
FIFTY DIE In WATER
Three Crowded Electric Cars Plunge Int
Stream Near Atlantic City.
TWENTY-FIVE BODIES ARE RECOVERED
About Thirty Injured and Death List Nay
Reach Seventy Five.
TRAIN is 0ERAILEO ON LONG TRESTLE
Two Ears Entirely submerged aud Ali in
Them Killed.
PROBABLY DUE To DEFECTIVE RAIL
Conductor Had Eighty-EiEht Tickets
and IL IL Probable That More
bSut Thirty Injured and Death List Nay
Reach Seventy Five.
AIN IS OERAlLtO ON LONG TaEsTlE
PROBABLY DUE To DETECTIVE RAIL
Conductor Had Eighty-EiRht Tickets
and IL IL Probable THAT More
Than one Hundred Persons
Were on Train.


ATLANTIC CITY, N. j., oct. 2S.-By the
wreclSing Of a three-coach electric train on
the West Jersey Seashore railroad this
afternoon, at least fifty passengers per.sned,
and the list may reach the total Of seventy
| five when all is known
! While crossing over draw bridge SPAN
ming the waterway known as 'rhe Thor
oughfare," which separates Atlantic City
from the mainland, the train left the track
and plunged into the water. The passen-
| gers I'm the first two coaches, with one or
{ two exceptions, were drowned Up TO mid
( night tonight twenty-five and possibly fifty
moro bodies still are IN the submerged
coaches
The disaster. the worst that has happened
since the horrible Meadow wreck Of July
30, 1895. occurred at 2:SO o'clock this after
noon The train. made up Of three heavy
vestibule electric coaches which left Cam
den at ! o'clock In the afternoon, carried
at least eighty-eight passengers. as that
number Of tickets are held by the CON
ductor That official is uncertain, however,
just how many passengers were on the
train. and until all the bodies have been
taken out of the submerged coaches Il will
not be possible 20 give the true figures OF
the dead.
Cause Not Yet Esta bIIshed.
The cause Of the wreck has not yet been
esta blished Il was probably due either to
a defective rail or the breaking of some
part of the superstructure Of the first
coach It has also been suggested that the
draw bridge which had Just been closed
after the passage Of yacht, may not have
properly locked the rails. All theories to-
night as to the cause OF the accident how
ever. are purely speculative.
While running at speed said 10 have
been moderate, the first coach left the rails
and dragged those following It over the ties
for a distance Of fifty feet. Suddenly
swerving the first two coaches plunged over
the SIDE OF the bridge into the water fifteen
feet below. The third coach struck an
abutment, broke it's couplings and for a
brief time hung suspended over the water.
Brief as this period however II gave
more than a score Of passengers an oppor-
I tunity to escape by the rear door. Then the
car slid of and followed the other two into
the water. 1t 10 believed every Que in the
third coach escaped alive although an were
injured
Coaches sink from sight.
The accident was witnessed BY many per-
sons on shore and assistance was promptly
sent from Atlantic City. Little could be
done. however, towards saving the lives
coaches The water at the point where
the train plunged in was not deep enough
to cover the coaches at first. but as they
quickly settled In the mud and as the tide
rose they were soon hidden from sight ex-
cept for the trolley poles. Divers were
sent down to try TO reach the dead bodies
in the coaches. but darkness set in and
AS the tide ran swiftly they were unable
for a long time to reach them.
81.
rived on the scene and with their aid
and the use OF a derrick dozen or more
bodies were taken out and brought to this
city. OF the twenty-five bodies about
, twenty have been identified, ana It is be-
/ lieved no difficulty will be experienced In
establishing the identity OF the Others
General Manager w. W. Atte1bury OF
the Pennsylvania railroad arrived on the
scene tonight and will make thorough in
, vestigation into the cause of the accident
Until this investigation shall have been
made Mr.. Aterbury declined to make any
! statement.
Partial List of Victims.
Dead:
WALTER SCOTT. Atlantic City, Motor
FRAN DE sAcEsENo. band man OF
]. P. DEMPSEY AND WIFE Camden.
FRANK MONROE AND WIFE, Camden.
SAMUEL /. FIELDS, 72 years old. Phil
MRS. SELMA woMFER, Camden. N. l.
JAMES EGAN Atlantic City.
| CHARLES ALBERTUS, Norristown. Pa.
DAVID FRIED, New York.
= MRS LAURA LAURENCE, PhiladeI-
phia. Mrs. Laurences husband was res
2 VINCENT DoNNELII. PAsoUJELI,o
4 MAzELLE, p. ANGURoso, Members OF
AGED WOMAN. dressed entirely in
nlngE.
: WOMAN. about 80 years old, wearing a
b wedding ring with initials IL p D; e T.
q until death do us part"
o MIDDLE AGED MAN.
. Injured:
s Frank ,peceri and John Fortunate. OF
!, Joseph peyipO, manager Royal Artillery
4 band, Philadelphia.
9 Angelo Fanzin. Philadelphia.
Z Andrew Taylor. Camden. n. j.
d Ida Debal, Florence, n. ].
Edward Morgan, Scranton Pa.
y Crestes Roy, Philadelphia
. George MCGEE, Philadelphia.
H. b. Joseph, Camden MI
y Al. Reese. SO Archibald street, Scranton
John Fortunate, real estate and insurance
n Joseph Deviio, manager of the ROYAL Ar
tilery band severely injured about head
orests Roy Maiielo. Philadelphia.
Pbilsdeiphia. employed in John Young
rinE. severely injured He broke his va,
through the window and escaped after be
= Andrew d. Taylor. electrician, Camden
le N j. injured severely.
n George MCGEE, sblO North Fifteenth
) street Philadelphia, injured
II Details Are VAGUE.
,e Details as TO just how the terrible acct
m dent occurred are vague. A complete cir
cumstantial story cannot he obtained from
any one Of the passengers as yet. Tw,
causes have been assigned for the derail
a ment Of the train One Is that the rail
st spread and the other that the rails wer
m not properly locked when the draw brids
4 was closed after a pleasure yacht whic
es had Just passed through. The man VIII
u may best be able 20 tell what caused IN
- accident Is Daniel b. Stewart. the bridg
- tender Stewart Is in no condition 10 tel
=. tonight The horror OF the accident hal