The Kendrick gazette. [volume] (Kendrick, Idaho) 1892-1968, 1915-12-24
Five Killed and
Twelve Injured
Phone, Gas and Water Ser
vices .Crippled-Firemen
Make Rescues

Spokane, Dec. 2O.-Two Washing
ton Water Power trolley cars fell
into the Spokane river Saturday
morning shortly after 6 when the
north span of the old steel bridge at
Division street, $50 feet or more in
length, collapsed. One of the larg-
est of the BRIDGES steel girders fell
on top of the inbound Astor street
car, killing five of the II on that
car and injuring more or less seri-
ously all the others. The outbound
Hillyard car, with two passengers,
was about to clear the collapsed
section, but slid back as the bridge
fell and ended with its smashed rear
end in the river and it's front trucks
still on the north end of the bridge.
No one in the Hillyard car was Sc
verely hurt.
Responsibility for the accident
was denied last night both by city
officials and by the heads of the
Washington Water Power Company.
Commissioner Fred S. McBroom and
City Engineer Morton Mccartney as
serted that the city had always CIV
en- careful attention to the bridge,
and President D. L. Huntington, of
the Washington Water Power Com
pany contends that his company can
only be held responsible for minor
details of maintenance that could
not have been factors in the acci-
dent. The breaking Of a steel sup
port on the east side of the bridge
was considered by engineers to have
been the cause of the fall.
None of the men killed was drown
ed. But closely following the floor
ing of the bridge the steel super
structure came tumbling down and
tore the car to pieces. One great
steel girder pinned underneath it
every passenger on the east side of
the car, and at the same time swept
away the shattered wood and metal
to an extent that allowed the other
occupants to Chamber clear of the
wreckage to places from which they
could easily be rescued.
John Becher, the motorman, with
two bad cuts and a broken wrist,
found way had been opened for
him out of his enclosed cab.
On the Hillyard car the only man
in any considerable danger was the
conductor, A. Cluff. When his car
slid backward into tn, river he
started as quickly as he could for
the front, climbing up the sloping
aisle, and got away with a few
slight cuts and bruises. The whole
rear platform of the car was knock
ed to pieces. Two men who were pas
sengers also ran to the front of the
car and all got out by the motor
mans door, which was on the level
with the unhurt end of the bridge.
There was no woman passenger
on either car.
The greater part of the rescue
was done by firemen from the CEN
trail station in the city hall, who
answered emergency calls with ropes
ladders, axes and pike poles. When
the firemen got to the wreck they
found the injured men from the
Astor car clinging to wreckage,
some of them partly submerged in
the icy river. Getting them to
shore was an extremely difficult
matter. It was dark, there was a
veil of fog on the river, and footing
was uncertain. The bridge carries
high pressure city water mains, gas
mains, and great number of elect
ric wires. For nearly an hour the
water poured from the mains in
torrents. Broken live wires were
entangled in the debris and were a
course of danger.