The Wheeling intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1903-1961, 1916-12-07
MANY KILLED
IN CAR CRASH
At CLEVELAND
COLLAPSED
AND CARS co THROUGH
Drop Thirty Feet to Ground
and Are Demolished
Many Are Injured.

CLEVELAND. o., Oct. 3. - Two
bodies have been recovered, several
other dead are believed TO be In the
wreckage, and more than thirty are
/ in hospitals as the toll of bridge
tragedy here early this evening when
two street cars collided on the West
Third Street bridge, causing it 10 col
lapse and precipitate the cars thirty
feet to the Baltimore & Ohio railroad
tracks below, where they almost rolled
into the Cuyahoga. river.
l. The dead are Mrs. Clara Ollie, a
passenger, and Otto Borchert, motor
man.
| There were. forty persons on one
car and twenty on the other. How so
many escaped unhurt is unknown. II
was at first believed. the death list
would reach fifty, but later it was
found that while dozens were hurt,
only few had been killed.
The accident occurred when a
southbound Scranton Road car carry,
| ing a crowd OF women shoppers home
at the rush hour broke away from the
motorman on hill approaching the
bridge and tore down upon the north
/ approach TO the bridge, just as a
north bound car reached the same
point. The runaway car jumped the
track and struck the northbound car
! The combined weight Of the two cars
, and the shock of the collision was toe
much for the wooden bridge, which
sagged and then gave way.
! Edna Waddington, a telephone oper
ator employed by the Erie railroad
saw the accident from where she sat
at her switchboard, and turned in a
call for ambulances, doctors and the
! fire department.
| heard the shrirks and cries Of pain ant
| terror us the cars carried their burden
| for the most pnrt women. 10 death OF
| injury.
Rescue Work Started.
| The work Of rescue began at once
! Those who had not been seriously III
! jured eXtricated themselves and ther
gave aid to those less fortunate. II
was not long until thirty had been TAX
TN out and carried TO hospitals. Some
| death list will undoubtedly be swellec
! from this source. The portion OF the
bridge which fell Is just north Of I'll:
river. 1t is twenty-five years old. Th,
away in the 1912 flood, and was re-
| placed the same year BY another wood
en- bridge bought in Detroit ane
! brought here
Mayor Harry l.; Davis and public
rushed /" the scene and promised tc
| conduct Il strict inquiry in an effort tc
| place the responsibility FOR the dis.
aStcr.
: Mutormun II. 7. Daniel. Of the south
! bound runaway car, escaped serious In
| jury but his conductor Is among the
dead. Daniels SuyS the brakes of his
| car failed To work and ii dashed down
| the hill, out upon the bridge, Jumped
! the track and crashed into the otner
car. with him helpless TO stop its pro-
greSs.
Il felt the bridge trcmblG when IN.
cars came together aud both cars fell
with .hc bridge" said Daniel.
Car Demolished.
Thn SouthbOund car was smashed flpt
, by the furcc of the crash. How any one
escaped from il alive Is almost beyond
comprehension. There is 10 part oi Its
framework left intact. The north pound
IL remain so that IL can readily bc dis
! tiuguiShed in the wrcckagc.
The dead whose bodies have been re-
covered Include Otto Dorchcrt, conduc-
tor OF the suuthbound car: ID. . Okcelc.
mutur;nan ut the nurthbound car, and
! two unidentified women.
a delivery wagon and horse. manned
by Il driver. which WAS on the collapsed
portion of the bridge. also went down
with the structure. The fate ol the
driver could not be learned.
Delay In searching the wreckage was
occus iuncd by the fear that removal OF
the debris might cause the remainder
of the bridge. which IS greatly weaken.
ed TO fall The entire bridge Is 3O0
| feet long.
Baltimore & Ohio. und all street car
traffic operating over the structure is
at standstill