New-York tribune., 1921-06-29
Panic as Ship,
And Ferryboat
Crash I'm Fog
1000 Passengers ON Bronx
ON Way 10 Battery When
1T Collides with Tanker
Polarine OFF St. George
Four Slightly Injured
Many Craft Rush to Rescue,
but City Boat Returns TO
Pier; Damage Is $40, ZOO

The Staten Island municipal ferry
boat Bronx and the steamer Polarine, an
oil tanker Of the Standard Oil Com
pany of New Jersey, colided in the
dense fog shortly before o'clock yes
terday morning about 1000 feet from
the ferry slip at st. George. Four per-
sons were slightly injured In the crash
and scores of ferryboat passengers were
thrown into panic. There were about
two thousand passengers on the ferry
boat, bound from St. George to the
Battery.
Those injured were hit by flying
debris and were treated by ambulance
surgeons of the Staten Island Hospital.
They were Sarah Yorte, four months
old, of 61 Montgomery Avenue, Tomp-
kinsvllle, s. l., who was knocked from
her mothers arms; James McAndrew,
Of 121 Montgomery Avenue, Tompkins-
vile; Miss Rose Hicks, of 21s Chestnut
Avenue, Rosebank, and Henry King, 129
Bodine Street, West New Brighton.
The oil tanker did not suffer in the
collision. The damage done the mu-
niclpal ferry boat was estimated at be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000 1t will be
out Of service for two or three weeks.
The heavy early morning fog hung
low over the bay and the sirens Of the
harbor craft were whooping and
shrleking as the Bronx, loaded with
Manhattan-bound commuters, glided
out of her slip The Bronx had pro
ceeded about 1000 feet out into the
bay when the nearby shrek of another
vessels whistle was heard. Passengers
swarmed to the deck railing and
through the haze loomed the Polarine
AS the ferry boats bells changed and
her whistles screeched the two boats
crashed together.
Shrieks OF women passengers rose
above the sound of splinterng timber.
The starboard side of the Bronx was
ripped open distance of twenty-five
or thirty feet abaft of amidships, parts
ot the superstructure were torn awav
and some of the promenade deck was
smashed None of the damage was be-
lew the water line.
Passengers. shouting and screaming
rushed for life belts and number Of
persons were knocked down and barely
escaped being trampled on. Small
boats came hurrying to the rescue
from all directions, their attention at
tracted by the wild Changing and
screeching of the bells and whistles of
1Hc blolA ana lne fOlarlne.
Before the rescue boats arrived the
propeller of the Bronx began to churn
and the ferryboat slowly turned her
nose toward her slip and proceeded
back to st. George There the injured
were given immediate attention.
The Standard Oil Company of New
Jersey, explaining the accident in a
statement given out last night, said:
For some minutes prior TO the coll
llsion the engines of the Poarine had
been stopped and the vessel had very
little headway. On seeing that col
llsion could not be prevented, the Bronx
reversed her engines and swung to port
IN an effort to clear the Polarine. At
the same instant the master of the
Polarine, trying to avoid collision.
put his enginess at full speed ahead
and tried to swing the stern of his
snip away from the ferryboat. The
vessels were TO close for either TO ma
neuver to succeed and the ferryboat,
from midship to stern, scraped the star
board quarter Of the Polarine. Captain
Carroll, in command of the Polarine,
was on the bridge at the time. The
Texas City