Oct. 28—Wilkes-Barre & Wyoming Valley Traction Company’s trolley car No. 220 left Public Square at 2:50 p.m. on Oct. 30, 1908, on its way to Luzerne Borough with stops along Wyoming Avenue in Kingston, Dorrancetown and Forty Fort.
Among the 34 passengers on No. 220 was Thomas Gregory, of East End, Wilkes-Barre, on his way to Luzerne to notify family of his wife’s death at Mercy Hospital the day before.
As No. 220 crossed the Pettebone switch in Dorrancetown, a collision occurred with an empty coal gondola being pushed by a D.L.& W.
“The accident caused the greatest excitement and confusion in this city and on the west side and those who viewed the wreck think it a miracle that a score were not killed. Although several were severely hurt, only three were serious enough to be removed to the City Hospital,” reported the Wilkes-Barre Record on Oct. 31, 1908.
Gregory suffered lacerations to his head and legs, and was one of the three passengers taken to the City Hospital.
The empty coal gondola being pushed in reverse struck the trolley car that tipped onto its side and pushed across Wyoming Avenue.
‘The trolley car stopped at the crossing and the conductor went ahead. The train was bearing down on the crossing and was noticed by the conductor but through some misunderstanding and the motorman started across, not realizing his danger until it was too late, the forward gondola struck the trolley car, overturned it with its load of human freight, swept it across the avenue and crushed it like an eggshell against a large tree and telegraph pole on the lower side,” the Record reported.
The sound of the crash was heard for several hundred yards and rescuers rushed to the scene from all directions. The traction company officials were notified at once and a relief car and physicians hurried to the scene.
“Noah Pettebone, who resides at the crossing, opened his home to some of the injured and others were cared for at Myers’ drug store,” reported the Record.
Panic ensued trolley car motorman Percy Linskill as he believed many of the passengers were dead.
Linskill and trolley car conductor Ralph Biannet gave statements to traction company officials.
Biannet wrote that he got off the trolley car on the right-hand side when the car stopped about 10 feet from the Pettebone switch crossing. Biannet looked left and did not see any cars, and he looked right and observed approaching empty coal cars and a brakeman on the lead coal gondola.
Biannet claimed he motioned to the brakeman to “come ahead” and became surprised to see the trolley car move forward.
Linskill wrote he looked at his conductor, Biannet, and thought he heard “all right” and “come ahead” and started to cross the Pettebone crossing when he looked to his left and saw coal gondolas bearing down upon him, the Record reported.
“Hundreds viewed the scene of the wreck during the afternoon and there as a general expression of surprise and wonder that most of the passengers were not killed,” the newspaper reported.
Several civil lawsuits were filed against the Wilkes-Barre & Wyoming Valley Traction Co., for negligence, including one suit filed by Ida E. Wristler and her daugther, Edith M. Wristler, who were both injured.
The mother and daughter had just boarded No. 220 in Dorrancetown to go to Luzerne Borough to board another train on their way to Harveys Lake.
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