The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-07-12
Worst Wreck in History
Of N. Y, N. H. and
H. Railroad.
FOUR VICTIMS NOT
YET IDENTIFIED
Forty-Four Injured Persons II
Hospitals, Most of Whom Prob
ably Will Recover-Disaster
Occurs at Cross-Over Near
Bridgeport at Early
Morning Hour.

Bridgeport. Conn. July lI.-Twelve
battered bodies in the morgue. forty
four sufferers in the hospitals and a
mountain OF junk at the foot of q
twenty foot emhankmcnt at the west
ern end OF the city tell tho tale to-
night of the worst wreck in hfty-eight
years history OF tine New York. New
Haven and Hartford Railroad AL
though the accident happened TO the
Federal Express just before dawn. and
The coroner's office has been busy all
day answering telephone and tele-
graph inquiries from all parts of the
country. four OF the dead, two men
and two women. remain unidentified.
The others are:
c. W. Christie, Philadelphia.
George L. Saunders, Norwich, Conn.
Mrs. Gwendoiyn +. Rogers, wife of
Sergeant George r. Rogers, Coast Ar
tiilery, United stntes Army
May Louise Rogers, her seven
months-old daughter.
Mrs. Helena ID. WnIcott, WnshinSton,
ID. C., wife of Charles ID. Wnlcott.
Hnrtmen, seven years old, non
of Mrs. Louis Hartman, Ncwtcid, y.
j., who is In serious condition at the
hospital.
A. VI. Curtis, New York, engineer OF
enc trnlu.
w. A. Ryan, New York. fireman.
Expected 10 Recover.
With one or two exceptions all those
In the hospital tonight are expected
TO recover Several. however. are in
critical condition. Among them is
Daniel kissner, head brakeman. of
New York. HIS skull and several ribs
are broken. and lie has internal hnju-
ries: John 1. Won Pfeifrer. OF Readviile,
Mass. and Mary insolvency and Mrs.
Loretta McCrokan. OF Philadelphia, may
not survive. Mrs. McCrokan received
several broken ribs and internal intu-
.ies The wreck will be responsible
for two more deaths II Mrs. Sarah
Calabra. also of Philadelphia. sue
cumcs Three OF her children. aged
from two to Ave. were injured. but not
seriously.
At one hospital is w A King. a
young mach,nist, who recently came
10 Bridgeport from Kansas city. and
went TO Philadelphia to meet George H.
Kirby. who was coming from Kansas
City Although King shows hardly a
scratch. the accident drove him stark
mad He ravcd and shouted continu-
ously for his pal" When they We're
dragging me out ] saw two legs under
the wreckaGe." he said in lucid
moment THE trousers were the same
kind George wore"
hlrDy mas not been lOunu. dltnOuEn
Bridgeport was his destination. and
II is feared he may be one of the UNI
Identified dead men The other is q
negro whose ticket read from Philadel-
pha to Boston, and whose trunk was
checked from West Chester. Pa.
Smashed Into Match Wood.
On May g. 1853. here was
wreck at South Norwalk, Conn. in
which forty four lives were lost. Since
then. until to-day. the New Haven
Railroad has been singularly free from
serious disasters. When the Federal
Express. one OF the New York, New
Haven and Hartford Railroads. fastest
trains, carrying passengers without
change. from Washington to Bos
ton, leaped the emhankment this
morning at cross-over switch.
day coach. next the baggage
car was caught at the bottom of the
heap and smashed into match wood
Not a person inside escaped death or
serious injury The Ave heavier Pull
mans that crashed down after It. held
together and the sleeping passengers
inside, although badly shaken for
the most part suffered no worse injur-
les than broken bones and bruises.
The members OF the st. Louis Ma
tional baseball team, on their way to
Boston, who were in the last Pull
man, all escaped injury. Their car
stop at the moment of the crash threw
every one of the ball players out of
his berth. Without waiting to dress
completely. the players hurried from
their car. climbed down the viaduct.
and spent a strenuous two hours help
ing railroad men, policemen and sur
geons at their work In the wreckage.
Saved ny switchmnn's Mistake.
AS matter of fact, the mistake OF
switching crew in the New York
players When the team boarded the
in the fourth car from the engine. hui
when the cars were taken off the
ferry. after circling Manhattan Island
tine switchmen accidentally put their
coach at the end of the train. All OF
the teams baggage. including their
uniforms. was lost In the wrecked bag
gage car.
Automatic signals protected the
"cross- over" which the express had to
take to enable it to stop at the sta
ton here. and the rules of the line
prescribed a speed at this point of NOT
more than fifteen miles an hour. Stories
that the engineer was new man. not
aocustoner to train OF such impor-
lance. and thar the tower1iln was not
at his post. were denied by the com
pany in official statements The fact
remains. however. that when the ex-
press darted across the trestle, where
the switch is located 1t was running
nearly sixty miles an hour. When il
struck the "cross-over." the engine
: frontInnea o. e,aDanth po--a-