Los Angeles herald., 1909-03-30
3 MEN CRUSHED
TO DEATH WHEN
WALL COLLAPSES
MASONRY AT OLD COUNTY JAIL
BURIES VICTIMS
----
TWO OTHERS INJURED WHILE
wREcKINe BUILDING
Twelve Persons Were Working In
Structure and Several Had Mar
row Escapes-Pathetie
Scenes Enacted
The Dead

The Dead
ARTHUR ROWE, 2S years DID, rore-
man in charge of wrecking the pulio;-
ing, lit Mignonette street.
MIKE WANDERERS, 20 years DID,
laborer, 461 Koerner street.
=. BEARD, Boyle Heights.
The Injured
Chris Kane, 26 years old, JIG North
workman street; back sprained and
slight bruises about the body; not serl-
ously injured. =, 11o4o,
Louis Lombardo, % years old, Hotel
ITALIA right shoulder Spralneo' ieII Ies
cut and numerous bruises anu aot 10
sions about the face and body; WILL re-
cover.
Three men killed and two painfully
injured at $3.50 o'clock yesterday morn
ing, when a partition wall OIL ING U,9
torn down to make place for the new
hall of records, collapsed ana pu[iea
the men beneath a mass or prlck aiio
mortar. .,,+,,
Two of the men were killed Instantly
and the third died at the receiving nos
nita1 a short time after his arrival.
THAT the two injured men escaped Win
their lives is considered remarkaple'
twelve men are employed in wreck
ing the building under the supervisor
of Dennis Hennessy OF 43lz fdsdoeI"
avenue. who bought the structure 10
pether with several adjacent to IT, TOT
$500 at auction short time ago.
BUILDINGS Are Old Ones
The buildings were erected more tnan
q quarter of a century ago, ana tlle
work of tearing them down has pro
crossed rapidly because the cement Is
old and the bricks crumble easliy.
The men were working inside the
main entrance to the building, the top
and second floors and part of the outer
uails Of which had been torn down.:
The partition walls were standing, anu
the men were engaged in underiIiiIliis
these so they could be pulled uoWli'
The space in which the men were WORN
ing was small, owing to the alliouill :, "a
rubbish which had fallen into the haA-
way. -, 800, ,,.are
The wall on which the men were
working was about twelve feet hgn
and twenty feet long. The brlcks anu
mortar yielded easily, and the men
were working vigorously. hahe We
on the top of the wall, tearing hole
az az the masonry so a rope could be
nassed through and tied and be useu
to null down the wall. The otners Wele
digging at the base of the wall pullllls
ont the loose bricks. Rowe was staiiu,
ing near the four men on the ssdouiv
foor. directing the work. Sudoenly,
without warning, the mass TOPPED anu
fell with a loud crash. the Work1ileIi
were unable to escape from the 'rap
and were horribly crushed.
Iombardo was standing at tHe en-
trance end of the wall when 1t fell ana
was only grazed by the mass. me III
nact of the falling ruins Knocked MIN
down. but he escaped being buried.
zane saw his danger when the wall
+ottered. He attempted to jump puC
before he could do SO 1ell WIN ftii Ia
bricks. The wall parted as II 1ell anu
he dropped in between the two po[-
lions and sustained only sllghtly
sprained back. n.
Rowe and Beard were buried peneath
the bricks, and Wannderein only par
TALLY was buried. The other WoTkllieh
rades and dug them out without al
ficuIty. Wannderein was breathing
when rescued, but Rowe and bearo
were dead. ,,. .4.oo+
was at work on top of the wall near lne
intersection with the front partition.
He saw his danger and jumped into an
open doorway on the first floor; where
he stood as the mass Numbered by MIN.
Great Crowds Collect
Several persons were in the court
house. which is just north of the
wrecked building. They quickly com
municated the news of the accident 10
others, and soon crowd was on the
scene The police were notlhed ana
SQUAD of officers, under sergeant
were sent to take charge of the place
Persons began to crowd about the IN
iured men, and it was necessary for
the police to stretch ropes in order 10
keep them back.
A report spread that others had been
buried beneath the walls and several
firemen were ordered to the place and
n search made of the debris. Later II
was learned that every workman had
been accounted Tor.
The dead were taken to the under
taking establishment of Bresee Bros,
and the injured men to the recelviing
hospital Wannderein was breathing |
family when he was placed on the
operating table, and he died within |
few minutes. His skull was frac-
tured and his body and limbs were
lacerated and mangled terribly 1t was
an irony of fate that he had just Sc
cured employment on the building, and
Yesterday morning was his first work
on the structure.
Beard had commenced to work on
the building when the Wrecking of it |
was begun. He is said to live in Boyle |
Heights and has a wife and several
children.
pathetic scene was witnessed by
spectators a short time after the acct
dent, when Mrs. Rowe, mother of the !
foreman, arrived after his body was
removed and asked for her son. Her |
question whether he had been killed |
was evaded, and she was told he had
been sent to the hospitol. She was
almost fractic with suspense, and final |
ly the sad news was told. She leaned |
against the building for support and !
sobbed bitterly She was so overcome
with grief that she had to be taken to
her home by friends.
Coroner Calvin Hartwell will hold an
inquest over the bodies of the victims
probably tomorrow.
FLOUR WORKINGMEN INJURED
WHILE ATTENDING TO DUTIES
Vnrto,,dorr cnnnnnnd 10 he m of dntt