Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1921-09-12
RueTED IRON PLATE HELD
REspO pONsieLE FOR BRIDGE
TRAGEDY IN CHESTER, PA,
Continued from DAxs 1.

Continued from pAxs 1.
came tho trio were among the first "a
strike the water The woman had
presence OF mind To cling TO her chill.
drcn. even I'm the river.
Ex.soldter Proves a Hero.
Neili Toomey, 30, No. IA West Third
street. a veteran OF the war. who
served with the Forty y-ninth Division,
was standing on the south side OF the
bridge when tina crash came. lie saw
Mrs. Hawkins 70 under the muddy
water twice. still ,lingipg 10 her kid
dies lie removed his coat and jump
ed from the bridge into the muddy
water. a distance - about 20 feet The
wnter WAS at ebb tide when the ac-
oident occurred md at the bridge the
water Is about 80 feet deep.
On his way 10 the surface Toomey
managed to yet hold of the wonan's
hair. She still grasped her children
Save my children. save my children. I.
never mind me" she pleaded Toomey
instructed her to hold tight t. the
youngsters and he could save them
ell. lie fastened his hold tight about
the wounn's head and started for the
shore. She did as he bid, but when
they reached the bank at the southern
end OF the bridge the woman, due 10
shock and anxiety. tainted. dropping
the children bsck into the dirty water
Toofney was assisted in getting the
woman on the river bank and then
nee more dove into the water for .he
children. Five times he dove and
finally succeeded In bringing up the
body of little Ruth. The child syas
dead. Four mure dives recovered ths
body Of her brother. He was also lead
when taken ashore.
Frantic Battle in The Water.
The others in the water were bat
Ting Ironically for their lives One
woman started muttering part .5f n
prayer. but she never finished IT MY
Jesus save ----" Her last word was
cut Off when she went under for the
last time.
Beats were put out, and more than
30 were rescued In this manner. Tco-
mey. after a slight rest, went into The
water once more, and swan out to the
struggling mass % humanity. He
almost reached the side Of 1ne Of the
rowboats when two women grabbed
hold Of him. He started 70 Tho shvrs
with them, but in the middle OF the
stream he felt one Of them Tightening
her grip on his arm. Seeing that the
woman was dying, he was forced t.
break her grip and make for the shore
with the other woman. Toornev was
in the water more than an hour end
a half. aiding in the rescue.
Old Boatman Saves Many.
Another Of the heroes Is George
Soap" penrce. boatman. who har re-
covered more than so lodies from the
Chester and Delaware rivers during
tn. s5 years Of his life. He was told
Of the Apostolic boys death. and had
started out In q row boat 20 recover
the body. when the bridge gave way.
He rowed to the got and pulled FIVE
people into the little boat. Then he
started for tho bank of the river. As
he came within few feet of Il he saw
a woman 20 under. He rowed to the
place where abe went down. and when
she came up, thrust out an oar, which
she grabbed hold of. Getting out of
the rowboat himself. with the aid of
those already saved, he helped the
woman into the boat and placed her in
the seat that he had occupied. TAX
ing a tow-rops. he fastened il about
his waist and swan to the shore, with
the boat in tow.
Pearce Is credited with having saved
at least rs lives in ten minutes.
Charles Dessenbucher. n fftney
driver. was passing by with his ma
chine when the span collapsed He
succeeded by repeated driving in saw
ing woman named Ravitsky. after
she had lost consciousness.
Pathetic Scene Mt Morgue.
The scene at the morgue during the
early morning hours We're pathetic.
Long lines Of persons gathered about
the building demanding adrnittance
before Coroner Charles ri. Drewes. had
chance TO prepare the bodies. who
are the dead7' I'VE have the right
to know" they yelled Coroner Drewes
finally opened the morgue at 3 a. m.
More than 200 people in whose family
some member was unaccounted for
jammed the entrance to the building,
all lighting to determine whether any
one in their household had been killed.
They walked hurriedly along the
long lines of slabs bearing the bodies
of the victims. Suddenly, someone,
upon recognizing a relative or friend.
would let out shrek and then fall
over In a faint. One mother, upon
TSeing her son, became crazed and had
20 be sent TO The Chester Hospital.