White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1912-09-01
CAUGHT BENEATH
CAR AND KILLED
THEODORE C0STOPULOS FATAL
LY CRUSHED WHILE ATTEMPT
ING TO DUMP COAL CAR IN
EAST ELY YARDS.

years, Greek in the employ of the
Nevada Northern railroad, was in
stantly killed, Thursday afteroon. by
being caught beneath a coal car,
the door or trap in the car bottom
which drops automatically for the
purpose of dumping coal, falling
upon him and crushing him to
death. Costopulos hau been in the
employ of the railroad company for
between eight and nine months, and
was looked on by his associates as
a young man of intelligence and
quick perception in the performance
of his duties. For some time he had
worked as helper to w. w. Hogan,
a hosting engineer, and assisted
him in unloading coal in the rail-
road yards. 1t is the custom to
empty the coal cars by means of the
steam dipper. by which the coal is
piled up beside the track. As it is
impossible to get all the coal out of
the cars with the steam shovel, 1t
has been the duty of Costopulos to
shovel out the car corners and dump
the remaining coal upon the ground
where it could be handled by the
dipper. Thursday, one of the cars
to be unloaded, was a Denver and
Rio Grande dump car, the dump
ing mechanism of which, Costopu-
los was not familiar. The car
was one of several to be unloaded.
which with the steam shovel, stood
on a lead through the yards from
the ore line, short distance west OF
the coal shutes.
After the d. & R. c.. car had been
unloaded as much as was possible
with the dipper, Engineer Hogan
told his helper to dump the car, and
then proceeded with the steam
shovel to unload the car ahead. In
the meantime. he had asked car
inspector, to show Costopulos how
to dump the car. The inspector re-
piled that he would as soon as he
had looked over an ore train which
was just pulling into the yard. 1t
is assumed that Costopulos must
have heard this conversation, as he
was standing nearby. and had a
good understanding of English
The next known of Costopulos.
was when Engineer Hogan went to
look for him, after having complet-
ed the unloading of the other
car. 1t was then that Mr.. Hogan
found his helper dead, beneath the
section of car bottom that had
dropped upon him. The body was
in a nearly upright position, the
head and upper portion leaning
over the top of one of the wheels
of the truck, the heavy section of
the trap and fittings resting across
his back and shoulders. There had
been about eight inches of coal on
the car bottom and as the trap
dropped, the coal had run out upon
the ground, and covered Costopulos'
feet. There was nothing to show
that the man killed had moved or
made a struggle after the trap drop
ped, and in one of his hands
hn CT ell
which he had apparently been at
work. Hogan did not touch the
body, but went to find the car in
spector whom he had previously
asked to assist Costopulous, and met
him on his way to the coal car, hav-
ing finished his inspection of the
ore train. There were no witnesses
to the tragedy, which as near as
can be learned, happened about half
past two clock
DR.. Bedinger of the Steptoe
hospital was summoned, and
pronounced life extinct. After the
body was removed from beneath the
car. 1t was viewed by Coroner Cart
wright and jury summoned for the
purpose, and was afterwards taken
to the Nevin & Graham under
taking rooms and prepared for
burial. The jury made a close ex-
animation of the scene of the
accident, and we're given an oppor-
tunity to see the operation where
by the car was dumped. The
mechanism was apparently in
working order, although there was
evidence to show that for some
CONTINUED from page two.)