Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-24
Kills Motorman Instantly at
Sherwood Park, N. 7.
JUMPS TRACK IN DARKNESS
Only Stops When It Hits the
Bar.
COLORED GIRL IS INJURED
other Passengers Escape With Bad
Shaking Up-Coroner Is
Investigating.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
MOUNT VERNON, y. Y, September
pa Mclean avenue trolley car. owned
by the Yonkers Railroad Company, jump
ed the track on Yonkers avenue at Sher
wood Park early this morning, ran
across the highway and dashed into a sa-
loon. killing the motorman and injuring
one passenger.
The dead man was William Steele, thir
ty-eight years old of Yonkers. He
leaves large family. Ollie Anderson. a
colored girl. was the only passenger in
jured. One of her ankles was broken
and she also suffers from internal in
juries Coroner Boedecker of Mount
Vernon. who was called to make an in
vestigation. sent her to st. Johns Hos
pital. Yonkers. for treatment
There were three other passengers in
the car. but they escaped with bruises
and bad shaking up. They were thrown
from their seats and sent sprawling on
the floor.
The Mclean avenue cars run from
Yonkers to West Mount Vernon. The
car. with Motorman Steele at the wheel.
was descending the incline on the Bronx
river road just before it enters Yonkers
avenue, at a fast rate. Evidently in the
darkness the motorman failed to see the
curve where the tracks turn sharply to
the east into Yonkers avenue, or else he
forgot about the switch. At any rate he
did not shut off the power as he ap-
preached the street which is only two
blocks from the West Mount Vernon
terminal.
Car Hits the Bar Rail.
The car leaped from the tracks. ran
across Yonkers avenue distance of thir-
ty feet, climbed over the curb, ran across
a wide sidewalk. and then crashed into
the big double front doors of Dietrich
Schaefer's saloon on the northeast corner
of Yonkers avenue and Bronx river road.
The car did not stop at the entrance, but
kept on until it had slid across the bar
room floor for distance of ten feet and
then stopped when 1t struck the bar.
which impeded any further progress.
The interior of the saloon was made a
wreck. When the car struck the building
the saloon was closed and Mr.. Schaefer
and his family were asleep on the second
floor The building rocked as though there
was an earthquake and the saloOnkeeper
and other occupants of the house were
thrown out of their beds.
Motorman Steele was found lying on the
sidewalk and close to the rear trucks, and
he was thrown through a side door of
the vestibule of his car and against the
saloon and that he then bounded back to
the sidewalk. His skull was fractured in
two places, his neck was broken and there
were fractures of both his arms. He
had been killed almost instantly.
Escaped Death Miraculously.
Ollie Anderson, the young colored girl.
was tossed through window and it
10 ua
killed. She was sitting on front seat
near the motorman when the crash came
She was found on the sidewalk not far
from the car in a dazed condition. The
conductor who was on the rear platform
escaped without a scratch.
AS soon as news of the accident reached
the Office Of the trolley company wreck
ing crew was sent to the scene and it
had a hard time removing the car from
the saloon.