New York, New York
Railroad Accident
April 29, 1911
THREE KILLED BY GRIP ON LIVE WIRE.
Five Others hurt, One Mortally, as Wire Touches
Third Rail.
SHOCK OF 12,000 VOLTS
With Blinding Flash Current Brings Tragedy to
Crew of New York Central Linemen as They Are
Lowering a Pole, Which Falls Prematurely.
New York, April 29.--One man was burned to a
crisp, two were hurled ten feet and killed, a
fourth was mortally injured and four others
badly hurt this afternoon on the New York
Central railroad near Spuyten Duyvil, in the
upper part of the city, when a falling telegraph
pole threw a steel guy wire they grasped across
the third rail.
A current of 12,000 volts shot out a blinding
flash at the contact and spat and sizzled for
five minutes as the men lay stunned.
JOHN TRUMBULL,
foreman of the crew of railroad linemen, was
standing on a rail and received the full force
of the shock. His clothing was burned from his
body and his flesh roasted and charred.
JOHN CASEY
of Yonkers and DANIEL
SULLIVAN of New York had hold of the
wire and were thrown to the cinder pathway
beside the track, where they died as flames
consumed their clothing.
Three fingers were burned from the right hand of
James Caffrey,
another lineman, whose body was so badly seared
that he probably will die. The four other men
were scattered and lay stunned.
A volunteer rescue crew caused the shutting off
of the current, gave first aid to the injured
and screened the bodies of the dead from the
view of hundreds attracted to the spot by the
flames. The premature loosening of a pole being
prepared for lowering by means of the guy wire,
caused the accident, according to the survivors.
Syracuse Herald, Syracuse, NY 30 Apr 1911
Transcribed by Audrey. Thank you,
Audrey!
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