The Detroit times., 1909-07-03
WOMEN CRUsHEO|N
W lid PANIC IN
CROWDED STORE
Cry of Fire Starts Stampede in
Kresge's Ten Cent Place and Stairs
Become Clicked With Frenxied
Mob Fighting To Escape.
Babe and Four Others Are Seriousiy
Hurt While Half Hundred
Suffer Slight Injuries.
SERIOUSLY INJURED.


baby, OF No. &c Chase-st.
caught IN the crush and her
mother fell on her; possibly has
fractured skull or concussion
OF the brain, but may recover; In
ST. Mary's hospital.
Frances Bobrowski, OF No. 979
Twenty-third-st., 20 years old.
bruised being trampIed on in the
crowd and Is seriously, though
not thought to be fatally Injured;
no bones are broken, although her
most serious injuries may be In
ternal; taken home.
Aibertina Miotke, of No. 1882
Chene-st, ~ years old, badly
bruised and trampied on, but no
bones we're broken; thought she
may be Injured internally; has
been taken home.
Mary Rudensky, No. SIP Hastings
st., aged 80, said to have Jumped
from a second-story window into
an express wagon on the State-st.
side, is badly bruised and uncon-
scious; expected that she will re-
cover; in St. Mary's hospital.
Marietta Monacelli, Of No. 435
Russel-st., aged 80, knee crushed
and was badly bruised; taken
home.
An alarm OF fire given by an excited
woman ON the second floor Of Kresge's
five and ten-cent store at Woodward
ave. and State-st, at 9:l5 Saturday
morning precipitated panic which
resulted In the probably fatal injury
OF one baby, the serious injury OF four
older persons apd slight injuries to
forty or fifty others who were caught
in the rush
There was no fire in the store. the
scare being caused by woman who
heard the whistle OF a fire engine go.
ing to fire some distance away. Her
cry was caught up by twenty others
in second. and the rush for the stairs
resulted. which forced several hun
dred people into a struggling. fighting
mass on the broad stair landing be-
tween the first and second stories.
Men and women became frantic
with fear and In moment frenzied
people were leaping from the rear
windows into the alley and from the
fire escape at the side That a dozen
or more persons were not killed in the
mad rush seems miraculous.
The back windows were kicked out
and many persons jumped out into
the alley before a check was put To
the panic. II took 10 minutes after
the rush was over to rescue the peo-
pile jammed together on the stairs aud
landing.
second panic occurred when the
fire engines which had been summoned
dashed up outside the building. rha
fremen put up their ladders and car
ried people down from the landing
windows and also pulled them back
TO the second story from the landing.
There was a terrible rush on on the
first floor when the stampede occurred
above and many persons we're knocked
down. but the terrible scenes on the
landing were not repeated there. be-
cause it was possible for all TO make
their escape
Second Panic Occurs.
The big store was damned with peo-
pie at the time the panic occurred.
1t had been opened to the public for
the first time an hour before, and
was filed with bargainseekers. most
ly persons OF foreign birth. Aisles
were packed with pushing, showing
people, and every one was more or
less excited. The crowd consisted
mostly OF women and girls. with only
a few men intermingled.
There's fire." a woman suddenly
cried.
In such gathering fear was con-
tagious, and the high pitched exclama-
ton OF a startled woman as she heard
the whistle OF a fire engine several
blocks away was enough TO send the
shoppers pell-mell In frantic drove
to tho back OF the store. where the
narrow stairs are. A broad stairway
leads up to the landing from the frat
floor, ana narrower stairs go up on
either side OF this to the second-story.
over these stairs Is a hanging bal
cony used as a resting space, and ON
one side thelanding IS hanked above
by the hardware and caps counters.
The first rush Of women, girls and
men down the narrow stairs brought
the two streams OF people together at
the head of the wider stair and some
fell Other people dashed up from the
first floor and there was a mix-up
which checked the rush. and in the
meantime other people had crowded
down the stairs onto the landing.
crowding It.
Balustrade Gives Way.
At this moment the balustrade OF
the stairs al the right gave way and
Il dozen or more people fell bodily
upon the struggling mass at the head
OF the wider stair, knocking others
down and forming . Jam which held
back the crowding throng on the land
ing. II seemed that many OF the
shrieking. fighting women would be
hurt and their screams only crazec
the frightened crowds above. From
the hanging balcony and the counters
at the side. men and women began 20
lump down upon the heap OF humanity
below. until the landing presented the
sight OF a writing mass OF faces.
bodies. legs and arms.
There was rain OF human beings
from above until the people were
piled up several deep Those who
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