White Bluffs spokesman. [volume] (White Bluffs, Wash.) 1907-1938, 1915-12-24
BIG STEEL BRIDGE
AT SPOKANE, CAVES
WHILE TWO STREET CARS WERE
PASSING OVER IT EARLY ON
SATURDAY MORNING.
.FIVEPE0PLE INSTANTLY

Huge Girder Fell Across Side of Car
While in Water, Striking People in
Seats-Others CrawIed Out to
Surface Through the Hole.
Spokane, Wash.-Two Washington
Water Power trolley cars fell into the
Spokane river Saturday morning short
ly after 6 o'clock when the north span
of the old steel bridge at Division St.,
$50 feet or more in length, collapsed.
One of the largest of the bridges steel
Orders fell on top of the inbound AS
to rstreet car, killing five of the II
men on that car and injuring more or
less seriously all the others. The out
bound Hillyard car, with two passen-
gers, was about to clear the collapsed
section, but slid back as the bridge
fell and ended with it's 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 severe
ly hurt.
Responsibility TO rthe accident is de-
MED both by city officials and by the
heads of the Washington Water Pow
er company. The former assert that
the city always had given careful at
tention to the bridge, and the Water
Power company contends that the
company can only be held responsible
| for minor details of maintenance that
could not have been factors of the &C
cident. The breaking Of steel sup
port on the east side of the bridge
was considered by engineers to have
caused the fall.
Start Investigation.
The city commissioners will atonce
start an investigation through two ex-
pert engineers, and that no expense
will be spared in determining the cause
of the accident and in reconstructing
the destroyed span.
When the bridge went down the AS
tor street car was about in the cen
ter of the north span, and fell, turn
ing but little from it's north and south
course. Although the water where the
car fell is 80 feet or more deep, the
heavy bridge flooring, paved with
thick creosoted blocks, was under
meath and kept the car about half out
of the water.
| All Killed, Not Drowned.
| None of the men killed was drown
ed. But closely following the flooring
of the bridge the steel superstructure
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 al
lowed 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 broken wrist,
found way had been opened for him
out of his enclosed cab.
HiIIyard Car Passengers Escape.
On the Hillyard car the only man in
any considerable danger was the con-
ductor, A. Cuff When his car slid
backward into the river he started as
quickly as he could for the front,
climbing up the sloping aisle, and got
away with few slight cuts and
bruises. The whole rear platform of
the car was knocked to pieces Two
men who were passengers also ran to
the front of the car and all got out by
the motorman's door, which was on a
level with the unhurt end of the
bridge.
There was no woman passenger on
either car.
Huge Pipes Broken.
Probably no disaster locally has
caused so general an upheaval through
out the city. The mains and electric
fhA ,,irrn OF yicin