New-York tribune., 1920-06-11
MOtOrnlan Dies,
Fifteen Hurt i'm
Subway Crash
Front Car of Lexington
Ave. Express Telescopes
Rear Coach of Seventh
Ave. Train in the Bronx
Tracks Blocked 4 Hours
Failure to reed Signal by
Man Killed Is Given as
Cause Of the Collision

NX&RE 4Ak4AJJV1 MO OAt&A 0S
Cause of the Collision
motorman was crushed to death
at his post, fifteen passengers were
injured and score or more badly
shaken. up yesterday afternoon when
north bound Lexington Avenue sub
way express ran into the rear end Of
a. Seventh Avenue train waiting in the
The front car of the Lexington Ave
nue. express telescoped the rear car
of the Seventh Avenue train for about
thirteen feet The sound of crashing
steel and glass was heard throughout
the neighborhood and brought hum
dreds of persons to the scene.
The dead motorman is George E.
Adams, of 4158 Edison Avenue. His
body was penned in the cab for more
than two hours while efiremen and
emergency truck men of the INTERIOR
ough Rapid Transit Company struggled
with pick and torch to release it.
List of Those Injured
The injured are:
Herman Hunnot, forty, a waiter, 1880
East fremont Avenue: left leg
amputated; will probably die.
Joseph Urban, thirty three, 1859 In
tervale Avenue, waiter; contusions of
the back and decorations of the hand.
Albert Rabinowitz, twelve, 1926 For
est Park Avenue; decorations of the
forehead and face.
Louis Carbone, twenty-six, 46 Pike
Street; decorations of the scalp.
John A. Morris. twenty-nine, Frogs
Neck; possible fracture of skull.
Charles Feldman, forty-fve, of 1906
Fifteenth Avenue, Brooklyn; lacera-
tions and contusions.
Charles Wise, 1924 Hoe Avenue; left
leg crushed.
Harry Levine, forty-fve, 1547 Vyse
Avenue, the Bronx; bruises of head and
Left leg.
Mary Kasuri, forty three, 81 Pilot
Street, City Island; bruises of head.
Annie Gold, twenty-six, 1906 South
ern boulevard; bruises of right arm
and head.
Ccnstanto Covago, twenty -four, of
232 East 116th Street; bruises of neck
Aaron Katz, twenty-six, of 5O7 East
l72d Street, the Bronx; arms and legs
bruised.
Irene Goldsmith, of 1926 Vyse Ave
nue., the Bronx; bruises of right arm
and side.
Aaron Krisoffsky, forty-three, of es5
East 179th Street, the Bronx; bruises
of left arm and left leg.
Isadore Karpf, of "a East 127th
Street, a guard on the stationary train;
cuts on forehead and body.
Fire Alarm Turned In
Immediately following the wreck an
alarm was turned In which brought
Engine Company 80 and Hook and Lad
der Company 81, in charge of Battalion
Chief White, to the scene. The fire.
men, assisted by the emergency crew
men, worked for more than four hours
&c clear the track Of the wreckage.
During this period service above 149th
Street was suspended, and passengers
were rerouted over the Jerome Avenue
line and the surface lines.
-Four ambulances filled with surgeons
and nurses were summoned from Lin,
coin and Fordham hospitals. The Rev
A. Cronin administered the last rites
to the moNc seriously injured beore
they were removed to hospitals
The cause of the collision could not
be definitely asccrtained. According
to James Sorchilli, of 80 Simpson
Street, the Bronx, guard on the first
car of the Lexington Avenue train, the
signal was plainly set indicating there
preached the station. Either some
thing went wrong with Adams prior to
his reaching the point Of the signal or
his mechanism failed to work.
Officials of the Interborough said
that the wreck was caused by Adams's
failure to heed the signal warning him
Of the train ahead of him. Ernest
Cook, the motorman of the train with
which Adams colided, was waiting in
the station, it was explained. for two
additional cars. His train consisted of
eight cars. Adams's train had ten cars.
All the passengers injured were in the
front car Of the Lexington Avenue
train and IN the rear car of the
Seventh Avenue express.
Negligence Is Alleged
Sorcl1illi said he heard the "tripper,"
an automatic brake which functions
when trains run past danger signal,
drop as the red light, II feet behind
the, standing train, was passed. He
sald he then heard rush of air and
stood up to brace himself in case the
train came to sudden stop, as he ex
pected it would. The only effect the
"tripper" had, however, was to slacken
slightly the speed of the train.
lnterborough tranmen explained
that the "trpper" is not expected to
function properly on a local express
track, but that it is supposed to lower
the speed.
In discussing the cause of the col
!lslon, James Doyle, an Interborough
traffic official, and District Attorney
Francis Martin, who was accompanied
by his assistant, William Quigley
agreed that it was due to the neeli-
gence of the motorman.
Mr.. Martin said the motor was in
perfect condition, so far as he could
ascertain, and that it was a clear case
OF the motorman running past the sig
nal.
He attributed this to the fact that
the motRrmen. when their trains reach
the .opeB air, rubber" out of the side
window, instead of paying attention to
their duties. Mr.. Doyle was of the
same opinion.
The District Attorney then asked him
why the lnterborough does not have
frosted glass in the motorman's box.