New Britain herald., 1921-02-23
SHELTON DISASTER
 TO BE INVESTIGATED
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Shelton line yesterday, Coroner John J. Phelan today placed the main re- sponsibility for the loss of life upon the explosion of can of gasoline.
 The coroner's statement follows:
 From what I have been able to learn from witnesses it was the eX- ploding gasoline which started the fire" said Coroner Phelan. Were it not for the fire which followed the collision the loss of life would prob ably have been small.
 The theory that is advanced at the present time,' the coroner continued, lis that the motorman of one of the wrecked cars either ran by his own signal when it was set against him, or failed to attend to the signal so that the other motorman would know he was in the block.
 When the crash occurred the car from Bridgeport had progressed quite a distance beyond its signal The other car had only just passed it's sig nal. Until the surviving members of the crews have appeared before me to give their testimony, it will be inn possible to say which crew was at fault.
 No Direct Information.
 "In my investigation at the scene of the accident shortly after it oc- cured it was impossible to get any direct information as to who was re- sponsible. The motorman of the southbound car is dead, the conduct or is in the hospital suffering from burns. The crew of the Bridge car had left the scene to receive med ical attention so have not yet taken a statement from any of the members of the crew. I expect to get the state ments in the investigation which will start in conjunction with the pub lie utilities commission at 9:3O o'clock tomorrow morning.
 Bad Wreck.
 The wreck was one of the worst I have ever seen. Scenes at the spot where the two cars came together were terrible. The charred bodies of the victims, the smoking wrecks of the cars, and the throng of people looking for trinlSets and bits of cloth ing which would help identify the victims combined to make the picture a narrowing one"
 Potter's Statement.
 "One thing should be brought out clearlv,'' said Manager J. B. Potter of the Connecticut Company here to- day after a preliminary investigation of the scene of the trolley wreck at Shelton. That is that there was absolutely nothing the matter with the block signal system. Everything indicates that it was working per fectly before the accident. I know from a personal inspection that it was working during the accident, and is still working perfectly. These facts were checked up by our own en- gineers and by the engineers for the public utilities commission. The only question is, which of the two crews ran by the signal. That will be determined by the measurements made by surveyors this afternoon.
 Responsibility for the accident will be determined by measuring the distance covered in the block by the Bridgeport car and comparing it with the distance covered by the Shelton car at the time the collision occurred. Both cars, from what we can learn, were travelling at the same rate of speed-approxinlate ten miles an hour. If the spot where the accident occurred is farther away from Cooks switch than from the cutout light at South Shelton, it would indicate that the Bridgeport car was the first one to enter the block and that it was the Shelton car which was at fault.
 From an inspection of the ground yesterday afternoon it appears to me that the Bridgeport car had pro- Shelton car"