Perth Amboy evening news. [volume] (Perth Amboy, N.J.) 1903-1959, 1920-12-30
LOCAL LIGHTER
SUNK;2 DEAD
Woodbridge Man Dies When
Liner Rams the John 6.
Craven in N. Y. Harbor.
LOCAL MAN ESCAPES
Crew, From This City and
HopeIaWn Saved From
Water; Taken to Hospital
LOCAL MAN ESCAPES

Two members of the crew of the
John G.. Craven, a steam lighter, the
property of the New York d New
Jersey Steamship Company. were
drowned yesterday when the lighter
was cut In two by the Dutch liner,
Nieuw Amsterdam, outbound for Ply
mouth, Cherbourg and Rotterdam.
The collision occurred in the harbor
fairway or channel between the Bat
terry and Communipaw, and was SIM
liar to those which the liners Olym-
pic and France had recently when
they sank barges in the channel
while outward bound.
The dead men are:
John Kohler. % years old. of Full
ton street. Woodbridge. Mr.. Kohler
was a deckhand on board the lighter
and lived with his father and moth
er at the Woodbridge address.
Henry Stark, fireman. of No. 324
West 145th street, New York city.
1t is supposed that kohler and
Stark went down with the lighter
after having been badly injured by
the collision.
The other five men, making the
crew of seven on the vessel, jumped
or were thrown into the water when
the collision occurred. These were
rescued by various tugs which
rushed to the scene in answer 10
blasts from the Nieuw Amsterdam
whistle.
The men who were saved were:
Captain John j. Hornsby, of Wood
bridge: Edward Blydensburgh. en-
gineer, of Northport. l.. l.; Edward
]. Hicks. colored, cook: John Pur-
kali. deckhand. of this city. ahd
Joseph Savoy. deckhand. of Hope
lawn.
Chief of Police Patrick J. Burke
was informed yesterday by the New
York police that Purkall was in the
Broad street hospital. Purkall's ad-
dress was given as 1928 Charles
street, but when Patrolman William
Peterson was detailed to the address
could find no such number.
An odd feature of the collision was
when the lighter was cut in two she
rolled over and her engine and boiler
rolled out of her and sank. The
cargo, consisting of pig tin and cop
per wire, also went to the bottom.
The two sections of the craft, re-
lieved of its burden, came to the
surface and were towed to Pier "A
by the police boat John F. Hylan.
1t is thought that the skipper of
the lighter apparently made an ef-
fort to cross the bow of the liner un-
der the impression that he could do
the trick handily. He missed by
half a ships length. The pilot on
the liner doubtless tried to avoid the
collision by stopping the engines, but
the great liners momentum could
not be checked in time. Following
the collision. the Nieuw Amsterdam
anchored off the Statue of Liberty,
where the engineering force made
an inspection of the bow and, find
ing it was merely scratched she pro-
ceeded to sea.
The lighter halls from this city,
and at the time of the accident was
bound from this port to Bush Docks.
Brooklyn, with a cargo consisting of
fifty tons of pig tin and five reels of
copper wire for transshipment.
According to Captain Hornsby,
who is confined in the Broad street
hospital. suffering from being chilled
by the water. he was in the pilot
house steering when the crash came.
He had just time enough to unlatch
the door and jump into the water.
When he came to the surface he
grabbed a piece of wreckage and
managed to keep afoat until res
cued. Captain Hornsby is 81 years
old.