Los Angeles herald., 1906-08-14

10 "rhc accident which occurred @
8 near Forty-secOnd street on the @
9 Gardena division apparently was @
8 caused by disregard OF rules by @
9 the conductor and mOtOrman Of 8
9 the southbound car, which was re- 8
8 quired by the time table to wait @
@ nt the end of the double track @
8 near FiguerOs street until the @
g nOrthbound car arrived. g
g "The time table and rules are @
8 very explicit on this point and Il @
@ is difficult to understand why they o
9 were disregarded. One of the men o
@ on each ear WINS nm old cxperi-&
o enced steam railroad man and o
@ the others were experienced cleo o
@ tric rond men. The accident will @
@ be thoroughly Investigated and @
@ the blame will be placed where II @
@ beIOngs."--statement by General @
@ Passenger Agent Burnett of the o
o Los Angeles and Redondo Railway o
8 company. @
90 @ g 9 q @@~@%~~@@~%@~% 9
to clear the car before the impact, but
those In the closed portion were un-
able to eXtricate themselves and sus-
Injured Brought to City
With the impact, both cars were
shattered as far as the closed portion
of the coaches, and the glass windows
were shivered into bits.
Persons living in the neighborhood
of the wreck hurried tot the rescue and
aided i'm drawing wounded from the
mass of wreckage.
l.. E. Crawford a painter working
on Fortieth street, was among the
first to respond to the call, and he
helped to drag the unconscious forms
from beneath the mass of timbers and
piled-up seats. Several of the injured
were taken to the home of Mrs. e. M.
Lang, 566 West Fortieth street, and
afterward removed to the city.
The Inglewood car due in Los An
geles at $3.50 o'clock, stopped near the
scene of the accident and the injured
were placed on board and hurried to
the city.
At First and Broadway waiting am
balances conveyed the injured to the
receiving hospital, where a number of
police surgeons were in readiness.
The police station at once became
the scene of terrible confusion. The
little hospital was filed with the in
jured and the surgeons were handi-
capped in their work by the lack of
proper accommodation. AS fast as one
patient was given treatment he was
sent outside, If not seriously injured,
while others were conveyed to the
Sisters hospital or to their homes.
Reports Are Conflicting
Among the most seriously injured
was q. H. Shirley, AZ years old, pub
Usher, living in Palm avenue. He was
taken to the Sisters hospital and was
to be in critical condition
late last night.
E. H. Richter was removed to the
hospital suffering from an
injury to his head that may prove
fatal.
j. #. Knepper, tourist from Geneva, |
Ind, was removed to the Sisters hos
pital in a dangerous condition but is
expected to recover.
Most of the others received injuries
of painful but not dangerous nature
and they were taken to their homes
after their wounds were dressed.
Reports as to the responsibility for
the accident were conflicting, but 1t
from the admissions of the !
of the company that the con-
ductor of the South-bound car was to !
blame for signaling his motorman to go
ahead, when he was not positive the
track was clear The opinions of the
based on their own OBJ
proved widely divergent, |
and various causes were ascribed for
the accident.
Rules Dlsregarded
At the point where the accident of
occurred there has been
more than one collision, the last being
last winter, when number of persons
were injured in head-on collision.
Before that accident train crews de- !
pended upon their own watchfulness
to prevent any accidents on the curve,
but during the past few months the
crews have had orders to register at
the telephone booth.
1t was understood the south-bound
cars should not cut in on the single
track until 1t was clear. Train men
believe this precaution was omitted
resulting in the wreck that
will probably cost two lives, dangerous
injuries to more than a score and dam
age to the company that will reach
into the hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
J. b. Spooner of the Union Hardware
and Metal company, a passenger on the
front seat of the outbound car, escaped
injury by jumping just before
the impact. He gave a graphic account
OF the acClueHI.
IT was sitting on the front seat, just
behind the motorman. After our car
stopped at the junction the motorman
was just getting UP speed. We could
not have been making more than eight
or ten miles an hour.
Motorman Aids Injured
Just on the curve we saw the other
car bearing down on us. knew we
were doomed, but kept my presence
of mind and waited until the last mo- |
ment ! watched the motorman put
on the emergency brake and reverse his
He acted with great self |
thought. We both jumped
about the same time, just as the two
cars came together. / bruised my leg
and injured my knee, but was slightly
hurt compared with others.
Although badly injured himself, the
of our car helped the groan-
ing sufferers, and he and l dragged a
of persons from the wreck.
My hands were covered with blood and
/ witnessed scenes 1 VIII never forget. !
But ] did not realize the pain of my
own bruises until the excitement was
all over.
''I am unable to place the blame II
was evidently somebody's fault for two
cars to crash together on single