South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1917-07-02
Of WRECK
At NIAGARA FALLS
More Than so Passengers on
Car Make Frantic Efforts
to Escape During Plunge.
InLernatLonaI -. serrIce :.

international News service
NIAGARA FALLS, y. Y, July ?.
The story of the accident which
caused the death Of a score OF people
at the Rapids. follows:
A washout. due 10 recent heavy
rains was the cause Of the disaster.
which occurred just below the Can
tilever bridge and 60 feet below the
point where the smooth water Of
the upper reaches of the Niagara
river break into the turbulent wa
ters of the whirlpool rapids. The
car was in charge Of Motorman
Louis +. Crandau and Conductor
Alexander Heron. tt had all but
completed the circuit of the gorge.
having crossed from the Canadian
side of the river on the trolley
bridge at Lewiston. More than so
passengers were on board, according
10 general estimates.
The car was one of the open type.
the seats extending from side TO side
with steps on both sides the full
length of the car. All the seats
were occupied and some of the pas
sengers were standing between them
and there were others on the rear
platform
The car was running at a speed
OF about 20 miles an hour when il
struck the weak SPOT in the road
bed. Less than half a minute
elapsed from the time the motorman
felt the first Earring sway until the
car was bottom side up on the edge
of the rushing rapids.
soldiers Help i'm Rescue.
Members of a national guard reg
iment who were on guard at the
Cantilever bridge saw the accident
and were the first to the rescue
SoldieFs slid down the bank into the
river and worked in water up TO
their waists getting injured passen-
gers free from the Wreckage and
passing them up the bank, where
an emergency car had been placed
to carry them 10 the Niagara Falls
hospital. The supports of the roof
on the forward part of the car had
been crushed by the impact on the
rocks in the river bottom, throwing
the seats together This pinioned
many Of the passengers below the
surface of the water and it was in
this section of the car that most of
the fatalities occurred.
Il believe a least half a dozen
bodies were carried down the river
10 the whirlpool. said one of the
soldiers, who was taken 10 a hospi-
tai TO recover from exhaustion.
When I was running down the
railroad tracks ! saw out in the
stream what seemed to me 10 be two
arms raised above the surface. Ten
feet away from them I am sure I
saw the bright color Of a woman's
dress near the surface and still fur
Their down man was swimming in
an effort 10 get cut Of the rapids He
disappeared.
Thrown From Car.
Conductor Heron was IN the for
ward part of the car collecting the
last of the fares He was thrown
from The running board and crush
ed TO death as the car toppled over.
The statement by the national
guardsman that he had seen per
sons struggling in the water was
the most definite as 10 the number
/ of persons carried away from the
river side Of the wrecked car.
Nearly a score persons were re-
ported TO be missing but most of
/ these were located in hospitals and
hotels later in the evening. It is Ger
tain however, that in the holiday
crowd there We're many making the
trip unaccompanied
The list Of dead and known miss
ing and injured makes a total OF SO.
Virtually no one escaped injury and
this leaves more than 10 persons 10
| be accounted Cor if the estimate Of
so as the total number Of passen-
gers on the car is correct.
The soldiers in the rescue party
were in the water at the side Of the
wrecked car for more than two
hours with the water up 70 their
waists. The injured were hoisted up
the 20 foot embankment with ropes
Private Joseph Crowley saved the
| lives of two girls by holding their
bodies from the wreckage. The girls
gave their names as Clara Schultz
and Lillian Cole Of Cleveland
Shudders at Struggle.
Crowley. who was on duty at the
bridge saw the car go over the
bank
There was n scream that raised
my hair ON end he said The
/ bank kept going down and in a mo-
ment the trolley car disappeared
/ I heard women cry and as 7 ran
forward 7 saw the car bottom side
up i'm the water
"Tt was awful 20 see that struggle
/ I'm the water T saw coats ard hats
/ float away in the swift current. but
/ T am not sure that saw any
I bodies"