South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1914-04-06
WABASH BRIDGE
COLLAPSE KILLS
THREE TRAINMEN
Part of Continental Limited is
Tossed Into River at AttiCa,
Ind.-lnjured List Placed at
Fifty.

ATTICA, Ind. April 6.-Three per
sons were killed and SO injured this
afternoon when the bridge spanning
the Wabash river here collapsed and
hurled the Continental Limited train
of the Wabash system into the ditch
and partly into the river.
Wrecking crews had just cleared
away the debris caused by a wreck
supports Of the bridge had been weak
ened for the whole span under the
engine Crumpled.
THE DEAD:
TIM HULL, engineer. Peru, Ind,
married.
JACOB MILLER. fireman. Peru,
Ind, married.
J. A. THOMAS. Wells Fargo ex-
press messenger, Huntington, Ind.
The engine. tender and three cars
plunged through the broken span.
all falling a distance Of about 80 feet
To the bank OF the river and one car
was partly submerged. Only the
breaking of the couplings prevented
the remainder of the train from fall
ing and only the fact that the cars
were of steel averted terrible loss of
life.
Hull Dies ut Post
Tim Hull, the engineer. died at his
post and was parrently killed instant
ly. The engine turned over back
wards and Hull was crushed Fire
man Miller was flung out of the en-
CINE cab, but caught by falling frag-
ments OF the bridge.
Express Messenger Thomas was
killed in the combination express, bag
gage and smoking car by some heavy
express packages. or possibly his own
safe falling on him as the car plunged
through the opening in the bridge.
The mail car which was directly
behind the tender carried six clerks.
This car made an almost vertical
drop and though every one OF the
clerks was injured none was killed
nor even seriously injured.
Lands i'm Water.
Next came the combination car, di-
rectiy at the edge of the river. one
half of the car alighted on land, the
other in the water. About 10 men
were in the smoking compartment In
the rear.
Fortunately for them the car re-
NAMED right side up. and though the
car sank until the water was up To the
windows the occupants managed TO
crawl out OF the windows.
Next came a passenger day coach
and here was displayed one OF the
nearly miraculous things that some
times happen in an accident OF this
kind. This car was half way over
the edge Of the pier on The river side
of the broken span. When the for
wards fell the weight auG momentum
OF this car sent the forward end top
ping downward
Every passenger was hurled IN a
screaming lighting mass to the front
end OF the car and finally II became
apparent 10 them that the car was no
longer moving and that they would
he all right if they would extricate
themselves.
Strikes the smoker.
Then 10 was seen that the forward
end OF this car had struck the rear
~ the smoker. already in the water.
$40 fairly that il balanced The rear
trucks still chung 20 the h-idge rails
on the pier and there the car hung
az an angle of more than 45 degrees;
in fact almost vertical.
About noon today a heavy refrige-
rator car jumped the track at the east
end OF the bridge. throwing the span
near the east abatement out OF line
and bending one OF the vertical sup
ports about two feet.
The wrecking crews had just sue
ceeded in clearing away the wreck
age OF Invested rails and splintered