Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-08-17
DIVER NEAR END
IN MANHOLE is !
SAVED BY COPS.
Officer Dons Outfit and
Rescues Man Held by
Suction.

NEW YORK, Aug. 17-NIotorcycle Po-
Hceman John Mahoney, who was once in
the United States Navy, reported to
Lleut. Sullivan of the Oakland Ave
nue. Station in Jersey City at daybreak:
i got him out" he said. I'm going
home. 1t was one lovely job" He turned
In his report slip and went home
The report slip was nothing more melo-
dramatic than this:
Frank Pojedineck, q, 81 Center street.
Clifton, n. J., removed from intake nine
OF public service corporation gas works
foot Of Duffield avenue to citv hosnitaI.
Commissions of thighs, left leg probably
fractured, partial suffoeation (bends). No
arrest"
Lieut. Sullivan studied the report
moment or two and grinned. Than
ne went TO the door. Mahoney had gone
on MS way. Sullivan called up police
neadquAr1ers and left word that he had
something for the reporters.
This was what they found as tha basis
for Mahoney's report:
A telephone message TO .ha ost6ais
Avenue Station received bv Tden+
sullivan at $50 a. m told him there was
over drowning in the Haekensack
RIVER at the foot Of Duffield avenue
sullivan telephoned to Mahoney on post
and told him to get there as soon as he
could.
Mahoney found a frightened crowd Of
men a. manhole opening at the brink
OF the river. They showed him the air
Inc OF diving outfit and a rope which
came out Of the manhole and assured
MN Frank was down there land no come
out; no get him out-but not dead vet"
There was a spare diving suit beside
the manhole, but no one in the crowd
knew how to PUT It on or what to do
when 1t was put on
Mahoney knew how to get into It and
ala. While he was kicking himself into
II he gathered Information. He found
that at the bottom Of the manhole was
22-lnch pipe through which the gas
works drew water from the bottom Of
the river. From the bottom of the man
mole to the intake end of the pine was
ABOUT a hundred feet. The intake end
was about 20 feet under water at high
tide. The tide was then about high.
Pojedineck, a diver, had been sent
down, of er the pump had been shut of.
TO find W at obstruction had been sucked
into the pipe to clog the incoming
stream. When he signalled that he was
coming back he did not come back. He
had been down about three hours. And
they added something between wonder
ana hope, He not dead yet. You sesg'
and again they put the twitching signal
rope in the pollceman's hand.
Bossing the boiling on the cap Of the
diving suit by impatient gestures. Ma
honey climbed down the manhole, laying
out HIS pipes and signal rope behind him.
BE moved rapidly until he reached the
level Of the river water in the pipe. Then
he kept on moving. In about three min
utes the men at the manhole mouth
caught the witches on the policemans
line which told them he wanted to come
back. Pojendineck's rope at the same
time slackened and ceased to twitchs
Very slowly they drew back the two
sets of lines. The foreman and another
man went down into the manhole and
were there when the policeman, in his
Shiny suit, backed into sight, dragging
after him by the legs the limp form OF
the diver
An ambulance was waiting on the
street when Mahoney, who insisted on
helping, in spite Of his cumbersome
trappings, aided the other two in boost
ing PoJedineck to the top of the manhole
Dripping wet with perspiration, the
policeman emerged from his casing and
painstakingly took down the data given
to him by the ambulance surgeon. Then
he got on his motorcycle and rode back
to the station with his report.