Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1918-11-02
N|NETY-E|GHTD|E
IN SUBWAY CRASH
Over 100 Hurt When Brook
Ign Train, Run by "Green"
Motorman, Leaves Rails.
RIGID INQUIRY INSTITUTED
By the Associated Press

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK. November with the
death toll placed at ninety-eight by
the Brooklyn police. rigid investiga-
tions were under way today by the
public service commission. District
Attorney Lewis of Kings county and
Mayor Hy1an to determine the blame
for the wreck last night of Brighton
Beach train of the Brooklyn Rapid
Transit Company in the Malbone
street tunnel, Brooklyn.
The five-car train. running at high
speed. jumped the track on a curve
and struck the side wall with such
terrific force that the first car was
demolished and the others 'buckled"
until they were damned against the
roof of the tunnel. The train carried
nearly 900 passengers.
Strike Is Settled.
Yesterdays strike of motormen and
motor switchmen of. the company,
which was coincident with the trag-
edy. was settled during the early
morning hours, company officials
agreeing to reinstate twenty-nine dis
charged union employees. The COM
pany previously had refused to obey
the order of the War Labor Board and
take back the men.
William Lewis. the train diSpa tcher
pressed into service as a motorman,
and Samuel Russof. a guard on the
train, were arraigned in a police court
TODAY charge of homicide and
were held for examination Thursday.
The magistrate refused to grant a re-
quest made by an attorney for the h.
r. T. that the defendants be admitted
to bail.
Lewis told Mayor Hylan and the dis
trict attorney today that he went to
work at o'clock yesterday morning
as a train dispatcher and that at 4:SO
in the afternoon he was assigned as a
motorman on the Brighton Beach line
being willing. after nearly twelve
hours of work. to take this new job
because he wished to earn extra mon
ey for his family.
Says Brakes Failed to Work.
When his train was moving down.
grade toward the tunnel just prior to
the accident it was going thirty miles
an hour. Lewis is alleged to have ex
; planned to the authorities. and he was
E, unable to decrease it's speed because
the brakes did not seem to work
properly.
Lewis declared he rescued several
stricken and fled from the tunnel.
Ale is twenty-five years old.
Mayor Hylan. who visited Lewis in
the Flatbush police station soon after
his arrest. issued this statement:
Lewis admitted to me that this was
his first run over the road. He said
he was going thirty miles an hour.
No man snold be allowed to run
train without at least three months
training.
Was Pressed Into Service.
President Timothy S. Williams of
the transit company asserted that al
though Lewis was motor SWltchman
he was a trained man" and capable
of running a train. Lewis was pressed
into service yesterday. it was said, on
account of the strike.
Another phase of today's investiga-
ton that attracted interest was the
fact that the train was composed of
wooden cars, declared to be at least
twenty-five years old 1t was said
that there was not steei,hodied car
in the train of five cars and when the
death-dealing crash came most of the
cars were reduced to sp'inters. In the
opinion of members of the public.
service commission the death list
would have been considerably smaller
had steel cars been operated. The
commission ordered the company to
replace it's Anticipated wooden rolling
stock with steel several months ago,
but the company contended that it
was impossible to comply with the
order, because of war conditions.
Mayor Hylan instructed Police Com
missioner Enright to post policemen
at all terminals and starting places of
! the Il" trains in Brooklyn today,
with Instructions not to allow a train