Milford chronicle., 1910-12-23
9 DEAD, 1856 HURT
IN EXPLOSION
Dynamite and Gas Wreck New
York Power House.
MANY BUILDINGS DAMAGED

Street Car Was Hurled Upon AutOmo-
bile, Crushing Out the Lives Of
Four-1ooo Shaken Up by Detona-
tion.
Nine persons lost their lives, 1856 9th.
ers were injured. many of them not
seriously, and 1000 or more were shak.
en- up in New York in an explosion of
car lighting gas tanks and dynamite.
The explosion occurred in the new
six-story power station of the New
York Central railroad under course Of
construction at Fiftieth street and Lex
ington avenue. The power house took
hre after the explosion and the in
terror was practically burned out.
On a technical charge of homicide
the police took into custody Albert
Segaratt, motorman of a train which |
bumped into and broke one of the gas
pipes near the sub-station. This acct /
dent is blamed by New York Central
officials for the explosion.
Segaratt said he tried to stop the
train with his brakes and reversing
levers, but could not do so. The explo-
sion occurred twenty-seven minutes af.
terward.
The dynamite explosion picked up a
northbodnd trolley car, carrying about
a dozen high school students. lifted it
in the air and sent it crashing down
upon an automobile which was passing
along the other side of the street. Four
of the passengers We're killed and ev-
eryone in the car was injured One of ,
the passengers killed was a woman. ,
What became of the chauffeur and 2
occupants of the automobile. if any,
eould~Rot predetermined. The body Of
a man found on the sidewalk nearby
was believed to be that of the chauf-
eur.
Ceilings and windows in hospitals, 4
schools and apartment houses for 5
many squares about were shattered '
~ the explosion, which caused in d
minor hurts of workmen
nd persons in the affected territory. 3
Fire Chief Croker says that in his Z
plnion the first explosion was that OF OF
lghting gas and the second explosion "
hat of a hundred weight of dynamite .
hat lay within fifty feet of the gas IL
ank
The windows Of all the buildings
the excavation were shat
cred; walls were smoke -blackened, G.
nd in many cases cracked and riven; H
cloud Of smoke hung over the scene; di
Odies were scattered here and there, ia
nd there was the incessant clatter of al
nbulance gOngs. The Grand Central
1t looked as if a battle had been be
ught in it. so
Clamoring hundreds besieged the mi
fty-first street police station, where mt
e dead were taken. There were many
teOus scenes as the identifications
ere made. The police had all they
uld do to calm anxious mothers, =
ives and relations of persons who 5n Sl'
ere thought to have been in the vi ia
nifty at the time of the disaster Au
The damage to the power house and S ,el
her buildings has not been estimat- IN IN
, but it was stated that it will likely 1e'
ceed s5OO,OOO a
Toomey, a patrOlman, was on Lex 'U'
ston avenue when the shock came
st ahead of him a girl was killed,
e of her legs being blown off, r.hile 7
omey himself was blown across the the
eet and his uniform almos, com of
tely torn from him. He go up and nal
5 starting to help in the rescue teri
rk. when he fell unconscious. was
gang of more than fifty bricklay- lulu
sixty feet in the air on the big be
yer building near the scene of the
llosion, had a remarkable escape $40,
N death or serious injury. An air S
hion, formed by the explosion be- rect
, hoisted up the big scaffold on divi
ch they were working, tilted in yea
'dly and tossed the men over the has
| they were building and upon a 929.
/ scaffolding on the inside Only one s64.
l of the gang was injured and he
Z slightly.