New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1911-06-09
BRAVES THIRD RAIL
TO GIVE LAST RITES
Priest Gives UnCtion to Laborer
Caught Under 81" Car, While
Crowd Presses Stairs.
HELD FOR NEARLY AN HOUR
When Truck Is Lifted at Last
Crowd Rushes Police and De-
lays Victims Transfer to
Ambulance Further.

While a crowd Of ten thousand per-
sons were shouting in the street be-
low Father Duffy, of st. AIMS Church
in East 18th street, crawled under car
of Third avenue elevated train at the
18th street station last night. and BRAY
inc the third rail. administered the last
rites of the Church TO John Brennan oi
No All East 121st street. who had
fallen from the platform in front OF
moving train and lay there, apparently
dying.
.. He died in Bellevue at l o'clock thi:
morning.
For fortv-fve minutes he was Wedeed
between the brake shoe and the SMELL
box Of the forward truck. Beneath the
structure Of the elevated pool Of blood
was forming in the street, dripping from
above. where Brennan's body was barely
visible in the blackened mechanism on
the car truck. Brennan's watch fell
through the opening between the ties
and crashed to the street near the grow
ing pool of blood The crowd that had
been attracted to the scene by the cries
Of Man killed.. fought to gain the
stairs leading 10 the platform, and the
police were overpovered.
Upon the arrival Of wrecking train
the car beneath which Brennan lay was
raised with hydraulic jacks, and the
mangled. unconscious form was taken
ont and laid upon a stretcher. scores
Of nersons volunteered to carry the
stretcher to the street below where an
ambulance from Bellevue Hospital was
waiting. At the foot Of the stairs the
crowd that struggled TO get a glimpse Of
the diving man crowded against the VIM
dows OF neighboring shops, crushing
several plate glass windows.
The arrival Of police reserves enabled
mon 70 carry the stretcher 10 the am
huIance. and Brennan was rushed To the
hospital.
shortly before & o'clock last night
Brennan. who is twenty-siX years old
and married. left the Public Stores Build-
ing. in Christopher street, where he is
employed as a laborer, with Patrick
Martin. a friend They walked to the
14th street station Of the Third avenue
IL" and reached the uptown platform
Just as a Harlem train was coming in.
The platform was crowded. but the two
men worked their way through the crowd
to the edge. Suddenly Brennan lost his
balance and fell to the tracks, narrowly
missing the third rail-
The motorman of the train threw on
his emergency brakes, but the train
could not be stopped quickly enough. and
the ticket agent and others who lowered
themselves to the tracks found Brennan
wedged under the forward truck. lie
was groanng at first, but soon stopped
Only one leg was visible. the rest of his
body being jammed between the brake
shoe and the shell box
In a few minutes a great crowd was
massed in the street beneath the ele-
leading to the platform. Father Duffy.
attracted by the crowd. hurried up the
stairway To the platform. where he was
told that Brennan was dying beneath
the car He got down on the tracks and.
beneath the truck administered
the last rites.
Then Or. Youland. OF Bellevue tempo
rarily bound the mangled leg. 4 few
minutes later the wrecking train arrived.
and the front ear of the train was lifted
from the tracks and the form of Bren
nan was removed from the truck with
difficulty, three-quarters of an hour after
he fell. He was unconscious and ter
ribly injured. Twenty policemen held
the crowd I'm check as the stretcher WAS
carried to the street. But they had their
hands full. owing to the morbid curl
osity that was displayed.
The trains of the uptown Third avenue
elevated were delayed forty-fVe minutes
because OF the accident. At ll9th street
the issue of transfers from the subwayt
WAS stopped during the blockade and
there was enough disorder to keep the
police busy