South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1915-09-22
Block and Half of Street Sur
face CoIIapSeS When Dyna-
mite Carries Away Sup
porting Pillars.
AT LEAST FIFTY IN
NEW YORK HOSPITALS
Two of the Wounded Die While
Being Taken From Cave
in-TWo InVeStiga-
tionS Started.

NEW YORK, Sept. 22.-Six persons
were crushed t. death today when a
street car plunged 80 feet into the new
subway being constructed in Seventh
av., as a block and half of the street
surface collapsed. Two others died
Of their injuries after being removed
from the ruins of the car, which was
torn to pieces.
At least so persons were injured and
are now in various hospitals, several
in a dying condition.
The identified dead are:
Louis Krugman, p years old, a gar
ment worker
James Dunanci.
Tony Deiogh.
-FOUR Investigations of the accident
are now under way They are being
conducted by Mayor Mitchell, the
grand jury, Coroner Feinberg and the
public service commission.
The generally accepted theory OF
the cause of the accident was that an
explosion of dynamite had blown
away pillars supporting the street sur
face. Fire Commissioner Adamson
ordered that search be made for Frank
Midnight, who has charge OF the
blasting in the new subway Midnight
disappeared after the accident
Work Was at Fault.
Coroner Feinberg said he believed
that faulty construction work rather
than an explosion caused the collapse,
but fremen found several sticks OF
dynamite and are keeping them as
evidence.
The grand jury was taken to the
scene by Dist. Atty. Perkins, who said:
THE grand jury started it's investi-
cation Immediately to find out whether
there is any ground for a charge of
criminal negligence. We want to know
whether proper material was used
and sufficient reinforcements made"
Miss Dorothy Madeline, a nurse en-
ployed by the National Cloak and Suit
Co, was looking out of a window when
the collapse occurred.
Il heard a loud explosion" she said,
1--WE have heard them for many days,
but this was greater than usual,
though ] thought nothing of it for
the instant. Then the street opened
and seemed to fall away. L saw two
cars plunge head first into the exca-
walton. Then L tainted and saw moth
ing more"
Police Are On Duty.
Police Commissioner Woods direct
ed the work of his men as soon as he
could reach the scene. BY that time
lneIe were 0UU ponce on OulS anu dS
many firemen, while more than 90
mbulances we're lined up TO receive
the injured.
The police were hampered in their
work by the crowd that gathered
about the great cavity and calls for
additional reserves were sent in. BY
1915 o'clock more than 10000 per-
sons who had learned of the disaster
through newspaper extras, had gath
cred and this number was being aug
mented con -inually.
The police soon dicovered that
every building on the west side of
Seventh av was in danger of falling
into the fifth foot excavation Officers
rushed into all the structures to warn
the occupants and drove out thOus-
ands of girls in the factories of that
block. From one building alone 5000
girls rushed into the street, many
their wraps and hats in
their terror.
The situation met by the police and
firemen was rendered more serious by
the bursting OF gas mains running
through Seventh av Within a few
a huge water main broke. the
water pouring down into the excava-
tion which had swallowed street cars.
autom Obile trucks, wagons and pedes-
trians
The police announced at 9 o'clock
that they had taken out the bodies of
six persons killed by the collapse, and
CONTINUED on PAGE FOUR)