[The following is in regards to The Forest Hills disaster, a railroad bridge accident that occurred on March 14, 1887, in the Roslindale section of Boston, Massachusetts.]
Of the twenty-three people who died, most were in car four and were killed instantly. The bottom half of the car struck square into one of the bridge’s stone abutments with such force that the roof tore loose and landed on the tracks beyond the bridge. After striking the abutment, the rest of the shattered carriage of car four dropped in pieces 40 feet to the street below. As the Boston Post explained it, “The body of the car was literally ground to pieces against the abutment, and the bits of wood, iron, upholstery, and human beings were strewn on the road beneath.”
The two impacts with the abutment and street would have been devastating enough, but passengers in unlucky car four were pummeled even more. The front of the fifth car smashed into the remains of car four and telescoped to nearly half its length. Car six fell on its side diagonally across the street on top of car four and amazingly beneath what was left of car five.
Like lemmings, cars seven and eight followed their leaders to smash into the wreckage below. Car seven somehow protected its passengers by landing upright in the street – comparatively unscathed. Car eight fell heavily onto its side and its walls were badly shattered.
Source:
Pletcher, Larry. “The Collapse of Bussey Bridge.” Massachusetts Disasters: True Stories of Tragedy and Survival. Insiders Guide, 2006. 69, 70. Print.
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