The evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1907-1908, 1907-09-21
Brooklyn Workman Meets
Horrible End at New
Mutual Building.
STEEL PIPE FALLS ON HIM
Rudolph Peters, in Pit of Struc-
ture, Instantly Killed When
1000 Pound Mass Strikes
Him IS Accident to
Tackle.

While at work in the sqb-ceilar of
the Mutual Life Insurance Associa-
tion's new building in Clinton street
this morning, Rudolph Peters, 27 years
old, of 81 Douglass street, Brooklyn.
was instantly killed by the fall of a
large section of steel pipe. His head
was all but severed from his body, ana
his face was frightfully mangled
Peters, who was an elevator con-
structor employed by the Standard
Plunger Elevator Company. of 1 Broad
way, New York city, was working with
Elias Jerrott constructing a hydraulic
elevator in the unfinished section of
the building when the fatal accident
happened.
Peters was down in the pit cleaning
the dirt from the top of a section of
the cylinder SO the threads of another
section would take hold without diff
Guilty. Another section of the pipe,
about fourteen feet long and Weighing
about 1000 pounds, had been lifted by
block and fall. and Jerrott was di-
recting its descent
Jerrott was standing on a scaffold
about seven feet above where Peters
was working and could not see the
man, he said. The victim was evil
IDENTIFY STOPPING over when Jerrott or
dered the pipe lowered. In some man
ner the tackle slipped and the pipe
fell to the ground, a distance of eight
feet.
An end of the pipe struck Peters in
the left side of the neck just below
the jawbone. severing the head except
for few threads of skin. Death was
instantaneous.
A short cry from Peters was the
only warning given, and a workman,
who was looking on, signaled the en-
gineer to stop The pipe was raised
and fellow workmen. including Jerrott,
lifted Peters's form to the flooring
above and the ambulance from the
City Hospital was summoned. Peters
was dead when the ambulance ar
rived.
A curious mob of several hundred
people followed the ambulance to the
building, and several mounted patrol
men from the First Precinct station
had considerable difficulty in keeping
the crowds from entering the building
County Physician Daniel Elliott was
also summoned and arrived just as the
! ing into the facts he directed that the
body be removed to Mullins morgue in
Washington street, and Peters's fam
lily notified. DR.. Elliott said the death
was accidental and blamed no one.
Peters was a skilled mechanic and
had been employed by the Standard
Plunger Elevator Company several
years. At the company's offices it was
said that he had worked on many of
the large buildings in New York city
and had never met with an accident.
He was considered very careful. Jer-
rott is also a skilled mechanic and is
also regarded as careful in his work.
| After the accident Jerrott told an
EVENING STAR reporter that he had
sounded a warning some time before
signalling to lower the pipe, and had
supposed that everybody had left the
danger zone. He was unable to ac-
count for the pipe slipping.
| M. Gallos, a huckster, living at 315
Springfield avenue, was driving through
Clinton street just as the ambulance
arrived, and was signalled to clear the
street. He is said to have driven on
slowly, and some irritated and excited
workman attacked him with a stick.
In the melee M. Kraveski, of III Chari-
| ton street, a laborer employed on the
building, was struck In the nose with a
| club
| When Kraveski found that there was
no one to go to the hospital in the ann
bulance he pleaded with the ambulance
surgeon to be taken to the institution
| to have his nose dressed. The ply
sician examined the member and de-
clared that IT was broken. Kraveslxfs
arms and hands were covered with
blood. as was his face. He stood in
the middle of the street as he watched
the ambulance disappear around the
/ corner of Broad street.