Los Angeles herald., 1907-03-13
Some Ones Negligence Is
Responsible For
Accident
Passengers on Car Blame the Con-
duetor, Who, They Say, Did Not
Look Down Railroad
Tracks

East Flfty-fourth; serious inter-
nal injuries, may die; emergency
hospital.
Benjamin Hess, 1880 Downey
avenue; seriously injured about
back and chest, may die; at Clara
Barton hospital.
Mrs. Benjamin Hess, 2o30
Downey avenue; injured about
chest and back.
Mrs. Virgie Ankenbaur, 300
South Johnson street, sister of
Mrs. Hess; injured about shoul-
ders, seriously bruised.
w. T. Brown, 1885 Bank street !;
four-inch scalp wound, right wrist
broken.
H. w. Clemson, Southern Pa
cific train dispatcher; left wrist
sprained, injured about face and
head.
Edward Moran, 1904 Twelfth
street; bruised about head and
shoulders.
Fred Williams, 6o8 Eighth
street; injured about back and
chest.
Mrs. L. Chort, 647 South Sichel
street; injured about face and
back.
Leota Chort, 647 South Sichel ;
bruised about body.
7. H. Thomas, 202o Darwin
avenue; cut and bruised.
R. Gracy, 1840 Darwin avenue !;
seriously bruised.
Mrs. c. F. Dawson, 800 Sixth
street; cut and bruised.
w. H. Parson, 2029 Darwin
avenue; injured about chest and
face.
Conductor A. McPherren, 303
East Fifty-second street; slightly
injured.
Through negligence on the part of
some employe of either the street car
company or the Southern Pacific rail-
way fifteen persons were injured, many
seriously and two probably fatally in
a collision between Maple avenue car
No. 4O3 and a Southern Pacific freight
engine, No. 1889, under charge of Engi-
neer E. P. Mcdonald and Fireman w.
A. Smith, at Redondo and North Main
streets. The accident happened little
after midnight.
The car was knocked from the rails
and torn from it's wheels by the col
lision, while the passengers were piled
in heaps on the floor or thrown to the
pavement.
According to witnesses, the car, un-
der charge of Motorman G. A. Graheck
and Conductor McPherren, was running
north on Main street When it reached
Redondo street, where the Southern
Pacific tracks cross, the car stopped
evidently waiting until the fagman,
supposed to be at that point, gave a
signal that the tracks were clear.
FIagman Is Missing
The fagman is said to have been
absent at the time and the motorman,
in answer to the signal of the conduc-
tor to go ahead, turned on the power
The car had scarcely gone its own
length when a heavy freight engine
bore down on it from behind the shad-
ow OF several freight cars, which stood
on a second track, striking the street
car just behind the front platform and
knocking 1t from the rails.
Efforts were made by a number OF
spectators to assist the injured and
soon several ambulances were on the
scene to carry the victims to hospitals
"I was walking along the sidewalk
when the accident happened" said j.
]. Bottoms of the Lacy Manufacturing
company, who was one of the witnesses.
'I saw the car stop as IL the motor
man was waiting signal from the
flagman. No signal was given, as the
fagman was standing at the opposite
side of the street The conductor did
not go forward, but 1 heard the gong
ring as a signal for the motorman to
20 ahead. He did so and a second later
the engine came around the other cars
on the off track. The engineer of the
engine evidently did not see the car
until he was upon It, when he en-
deaVored to stop his engine, but too
late. He was backing the engine at
the time and was evidently looking in
the other direction"
"From what l could see," said an
other witness of the accident, "the en-
tire accident was the result of the con-
ductor's failure to go forward tand see
il the tracks were clear. Had he done
so the accident would have been avert
ed"
The police endeavored to get a list
of the injured and were greatly him
dered In their work by the conductor,
who refused at first to give his own
name or any information In regard to
how the accident occurred.