The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-11-21
Twenty Injured in Wreck Near Atlantic
City on New Electric Pennsyl-
vania Railroad Line.
PASSENGERS HELD IN TRAP DROWN
Train Runs Along Trestle, Then PlunSes Into Twenty
Feet of Water-Rescue Almost Impossible.

InaC the passengers began 10 SnOut
in terror. The passengers were seen
leaving their seats and crowding to-
/ ward the doors. Before any of them
could get out, however, the two
coaches went into the water and in
| stantly sank from sight.
The coaches went over at one end
of the drawbridge. There was no
protecting guard rail here, and the
first coach shot clean out from the
bridge and struck the water with
it's wheels spinning. The second
coach was almost perpendicular for a
few seconds, when the rear end
slipped from the bridge, the car sink
ing fiat in the mud like the first. The
coupling of the third cal was broken,
and it turned almost at right angles
to the bridge before it fell. 1t was
the decreasing weight, as the passen-
gers fought their way through the
rear door, that finally sent the coach
into the water.
A great beam pierced the floor and
held the coach on its point. That
all in the third coach did not die was
due to the heroism and foresight Of
William Wood, a brakeman. After
the train jumped the tracks and
while it was running along the trestle
floor he rushed to the rear of the last
car and opened the door. He be-
lieved that the train would go into
the water and he opened the only
easy avenue of escape. Had he wait
ed the door could not have been
opened, as it was strained by the tear
ing of the beam.
Wood stood guard at the door un-
til the coach finally fell. He assisted
twenty persons to escape through the
door, and as he worked he kept call
ing for everyone to remain cool, as
the least excitement or panic might
result in greater loss of life. Wood
vas rescued when being carried away
by the tide. He was unconscious
when picked up, but was resuscitated
by a physician.
Harry Reemer, a young man living
in Philadelphia, was instrumental in
saving several lives after he had eS-
capped from the front car. Reemer
had a remarkable experience. He
was walking through the car when
the rails spread.
81 felt the coach sink under me-"
he said, land as the wheels began to
bump I knew that we had left the
rails. I steadied myself by gripping
the backs of two seats. Every other
passenger in the coach, and it was
crowded, was in panic. They all
sprang to their feet and started for
the doors. I saw n water on both
sides of us and I realized that if we
went over that I would be lost IL I
tried to fight my way to either door.
I said to myself: You must keep
your head, and you must go through
a window
$50, while all the passengers divid-
eG and stormed the doors I stepped
between the seats and waited in the
through the window meanwhile and
shouting at the top OF my voice for
order. But the turmoil was so great
that I could not hear my own cries.
The screaming of the women was ter
rifying, and I saw one womaf strik-
ing a man with her fist in the face as
she struggled to protect her baby in
the crush.
81 wondered why the train did not
stop. I vas almost thrown off my
feet by humping against the guard
rail and I remember asking myself.
is the motorman mad?' I believe
we must have been running twenty-five
miles an hour when suddenly we
went over. There was an end of the
roar of the wheels on the timbers,
and for an instant all our voices were
hushed as If in expectation and awe
of the fate confronting us.
"Just as the car struck the water
I put my fist through the window,
and as the tide rushed in I broke
out the bottom of the pane with my
foot. I felt the car strike the mud,
and I thought that if I could keep
clear of the drowning passengers I.
could save myself. I held my breath,
and with as much elaboration as I
could muster I put my head and
shoulders through the window, and
gripping the edge Of the roof with
both hands, I began to draw the rest
of my body through.
81 was almost clear when a hand
closed On my left ankle. I pulled
with all my strength, but was un:
able to break the hold. I thought /
would be drowned, and I began to
kick in desperation. Whoever had
the grip on me must have been
wedged between the seats or else
must have been SO frenzied as to be
unable to take the chance offered to
escape. I was unable to get free by
kicking, and with a last effort, clear
ing my mind, I deliberately put my
right foot against the wrist and
pushed with all my strength. I was
successful. Suddenly the hand