Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-10-29

dashed into the guard rail-. the other two
cars following. At the point where the
cars jumped the track the top OF the tres
tie is nearly twenty feet high. The first
two cars were instantly submerged, but
the third car of the train caught on the
abutment and remained suspended. 1t
was this car from which nearly all of the
injured escaped.
The Work Of Rescue.
The news of the disaster was quickly
telegraphed to this city. and in less than
an hour the work of rescue had been be-
gun. At the time of the accident the tide,
which rises about ten feet. was running
in, and the work of the divers was neces-
sarily slow. 1t was. not until several
hours later that the drivers were able to
make any progress. Then the awful evil
dences Of the disaster became more appar-
emit. When the two cars struck the bot
tom of the waterway they stood almost
on end, and the first man to descend re-
ported that the victims were packed in the
lower ends Of the submerged cars so tight
ly that it was difficult to remove them.
One by one the bodies were carried to a
waiting train and laid side by side, later
to be borne to this city and placed in the
old Empire Theater, which was pressed
into service as temporary morgue.
Thousands of persons quickly gathered at
the scene of the disaster and a score Of
boats soon surrounded the spot where the
cars disappeared, but they were unable to
render any aid. and could only await the
arrival Of the divers.
At the morgue the scenes were pa
thetic. Persons who had friends on the
ill-fated cars crowded about the entrance
and were with difficulty restrained from
forcing their way into the building One
Of the most heart-rending incidents was
furnished by Frederick Benckert, who lost
his entire family-a wife and two children.
Benckert was not informed Of the accident
until too late to catch train. and he hur-
ried here in an automobile. When he saw
the bodies Of his wife and two little boys
lying side by side on the cold floor Benck-
ert collapsed and had to be carried from
the building Benckert had intended to
come to Atlantic City with his family
yesterday. but was unable to get away.
Wanted to See Wife.
Walter Scott, the motorman, was Led
because Of his anxiety to spend a part OF
the day with his wife here. It was Scott's
custom to run only as far Is Melville,
but today he snapped runs with another
motorman, and his death was the result.
DR.. Hudders and his wife were on their
way to this city to purchase a cottage and
intended visiting Mrs. German. the doctors
sister-in-law. who resides in this city. The
latter was at the station awaiting the arri-
val of the doctor and his wife, and when
she learned Of the accident the woman col
lapsed. The bodies of the doctor and his
wife were among the last brought in from
the wreck. Coroner Gaskill. Capt. Wood
nd iaP ~ Mo
tended the removal of the bodies from the
brought to the surface it was searched and
the effects were taken In charge by Capt.
Woodruff. The valuables were placed in
packages, which were numbered and q num-
Der corresponding was placed on the body.
Divers Exhausted.
The divers were so completely exhausted
by their continued efforts that they were
compelled to suspend operations short
time before daybreak. Their work was
particularly arduous because the wreckIng
crews. which had been summoned to the
scene Of the accident. were unable to raise
the submerged cars. The huge derrick
which was run out upon the long trestle,
with the added weight of the wrecked cars
suspended from the crane, was more than
the bridge would sustain, and it was feared
the stress would cause 1t to conapse.
An attempt was made to cut the first
and second cars asunder and lift a single
car out of the water, but the cables broke
at the first attempt and on the second the
already twisted car buckled. The attempts
to lift the coaches were then temporarily
abandoned and all efforts were directed
toward getting the bodies Of the victims out
of the wreck. When it Is certain that no
more bodies are in the tangled and twisted
coaches they will be broken up and pulled
ashore.
General Manager w. w. Atterbury of
the PENNSYLVANIA Railroad Company, which
company owns the line on which the acct
dent occurred, Is here, but thus far has de-
clined to make any statement with refer
ence to the wreck. He intimated that
statement might be looked for later in the
day.
The Divers Story.
Atlantic City's one diver. John Cooney,
went down beside the submerged cars
time after time. until his physical strength
was completely gone. But all he could do
was to bring up with him a heartrending
story of what he saw below.
Rough and hardened man as he Is. tears
were streaming down his cheeks and his
voice was broken with sobs as he came
up the first time and removed his rubber
helmet from his head. He said:
MY God. people, they're lying down
there by dozens and dozens, all janimed
together, dead. They didn't have a Sec
ond's chance for their lives. I could only
get a good look at the first car. Up in tho
front of that there's about twenty or
thirty people all in bunch. A man in
uniform-he must have been the motor
man-his body is sort of half floating and
half resting on one of these brass hat
rack things along the upper part OF one
of the sides of the car.
There's one woman with her baby
right up against her breast, tight as she
could get it. The two bodies were lying
across a seat. And l saw a baby with a
big cut on it's little cheek; its body came
kind of humping and humping against
the window as 1 was looking through, as
if 1t was asking me to take it out.
"Men-don't ask me to tell any more
about it; 1 can't; it's too awful. It's worse
than a hell down there. And I couldn do
anything. All I've got is this leaky old
rubber diving suit and a beer pump
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