The New York herald., 1921-03-12
Touring Car Wheels Touch
Metal Mass as 1t Drops 100
Feet at 57th Street.
IMPACT LIKE A SHELLS
Miracle That None Is Hurt
in Crash at Generally
Busy Traffic Point.
NEAR VANDERBILT HOME
Mrs. Henry Clews Leaves Her
Landaulet Seconds Before
Steel Cable Strips Roof.
IMPACT LIKE A SHELLS
NEAR VANDERBILT HOME

Twelve tons of structural steel fell
from the tenth floor level of new
skyscraper yesterday afternoon. crash
ing down amid the busy traffic at
Fifth avenue and Fiftyseventh street
and nobody suffered so much as a
scratch.
The chief damage was the smashing
of the top of a landaulet belonging TO
Henry Clews the banker, and out of
which a few seconds before his wife
had stepped, bound on a shopping tour
III neighboring Fifth avenue speciality
shops.
The Clews car few minutes after
O'Clock swung around the corner OF
Fifth avenue and pulled up at the curb
or the northerly side of Fifty seventh
street. directly In front of the southern
end of the home of Mrs. Vanderbilt.
Mrs. Clews left the car, telling her
chauffeur, Albert Schustek, to await
her there.
Directly across Fifty-seventh street, on
fhe southwest corner of that thorough
fare and Fifth avenue, towers the steel
framework of the new Heckscher build
ing the erection of which is in the hands
of George Backer, Inc.
Peaked Like a ships Gan.
At 4:10 gang of structural IRON
workers was busy hoisting from the
street to the tenth floor huge sheaf Of
I-beams and T-beams, most Of which
were twenty-five feet in length. Bound
together with chains, the twelve ton load
was swinging from the end OF steel
boom which at the height of more than
100 feet was peaked like ships gaff
out over Ffty-seventh street
The Hay Foundry Corporation has the
contract for the iron and steel work Of
the new building. The foreman In i'm
mediate charge at the moment was said
TO have been Andrew Anderson. The
load had reached the tenth floor level
when the cable parted between its bur-
den and the end OF the boom.
There was no warning save the spon-
taneous shrieks of two women who
chanced 10 be watching the hosting OPP
GRAFTON from the Fifth avenue corner
and a hoarse cry from David Sesserg. a
night wathcman who had just reported
for duty and who stood barely within
the Fifty-seventh street driveway into
the Heckscher building.
With an impact that shook the earth
like that of one of the wartime Big
Berthas," the twelve tons struck fairly
In the centre OF Fifty-seventh street. Po-
iiceman Patrick Murphy OF the Twenty
sixth precinct who was doing traffic
duty, saw the giant girders miss the
ray hu fau faat nh he
reached Schustek the chauffeur was
speechless and hanging over his steering
wheel as though in a trance.
steel Cable sweeps ytciousiy.
But lashing and swishing behind the
vast mass Of steel was the broken end
OF the severed steel cable As the metal
beams and girders struck the pavement
the cable end. lashing athwart the street
like snapped whip, smotc the roof OK
the Clews car. The polished top was
crushed instantly.
Both pedestrian and motor traffic is
heavy at this corner in the mld-after-
noon hours. and Fifty-sevcnth street is
two way" thoroughfare. Policeman
Murphy saw a Black and White taxicab.
bound eastward. Just clear the falling
mass. It's driver. as he heard the ter
rife crash. glanced behind, stepped on
his gas. and bounded rapidly northward
ihto Fifth avenue. Following behind the
taxicab was a five passenger touring car.
The steel actually struck between the
two. The driver OF the touring car
jammed on his emergency brakes in
time to halt II with its front wheels
pressed against the steel barrier.
Within tal minutes tha bent ana
twisted girders were hauled out ot the
driveway. stacked against the curb and
traffic was resumed. Bar many scores
Of pedestrians and Automobiles last
right were telling what close call they
had
1T was a miracle. nothing less" COM
mented patrolman Murphy IF the thing
was rehearsed ATTY times II couldn't be
done again without killing some mighty
v.naJ fniLg