Was this the First Automobile Accident on Today's Pelham Bridge?

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For about the last two hundred years, some form of bridge has stood above the waters of Eastchester Bay where the Hutchinson River meets Long Island Sound.  The histories of the several bridges that have stood there over the years are fascinating.  Often referenced as Pelham Bridge and, occasionally, Eastchester Bridge, the current version was built more than a century ago and opened to the public on October 15, 1908.  The Department of Transportation has announced that it plans to replace the current Pelham Bridge entirely with construction scheduled to begin in 2022.

I have written about the histories of the various bridges at that location numerous times.  A number of such articles, with links, are listed at the end of today's Historic Pelham article.

An odd incident in the early history of the current Pelham Bridge occurred only a few weeks after the bridge opened in mid-October, 1908.  The dramatic incident involved a 17-year-old young person named Henry Goodsell.

Though accounts differ, Henry Goodsell lived on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.  Late in the day on Friday, November 6, 1908, he was in his large touring car on Shore Road after dropping friends off in the region.  He was on his way back to the Upper West Side as he approached Shore Road.

Ahead, in the darkness, the draw of Pelham Bridge was open to let a vessel pass on the waters below.  The bridge tender, a man named Michael Selig (or Seelig, depending on the account) stood on the roadway tending a rope stretched across the roadway with two red signal lanterns hanging from the rope to warn approaching motorists.

As the vessel in the waters below passed, the bridge engineer began lowering the two halves of the draw.  As the two giant halves of the draw closed slowly, young Henry Goodsell came burning down Shore Road at the then incredible speed of thirty miles per hour.  The bridge tender saw the touring car approaching too fast and grabbed one of the two lanterns hanging from the rope.  He began swinging the lantern frantically, to no avail.

Henry Goodsell's touring car blew through the rope, slicing it like a hot knife through butter.  Goodsell realized his circumstance at the last moment and slammed on the brakes.  The car climbed the inclined draw just as the two halves were about to close.

The touring car barely made it through the steel jaws of the closing draw and plunged over the edge.  The bridge tender hear Henry Goodsell's scream as the touring car made a complete "somersault" before plunging into the waters of Eastchester Bay below, sending a "geyser" of water into the night air.

The bridge tender began scrambling down from the bridge to get to a nearby rowboat.  A second bridge tender, Elijah Miller, and the bridge engineer, John Beyer, also witnessed the accident and likewise scrambled down from the bridge to try to save the young man.

Once again, accounts differ, but clearly the car sank immediately.  The young driver was unconscious, but reportedly -- according to one account -- was found floating face up before he was dragged into a rowboat and taken ashore.  The three men called an ambulance and tended to the young man until he was transported to the hospital.

Miraculously, Henry Goodsell survived.  He was badly hurt with broken ribs and was in serious condition when taken to the hospital.  Yet, the three men had saved the young lad's life.

The touring car was left at the bottom of Eastchester Bay, although its location was marked with a float.

"NEW PELHAM PARK BRIDGE OVER EAST CHESTER BAY.

Formally opened yesterday.  Source:  NEW BRIDGE OPENED,
New-York Daily Tribune, Oct. 16, 1908, p. 12, cols. 2-3.  NOTE:
Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"AUTOMOBILE LEAPS THROUGH DRAW INTO BAY
-----
With Driver at Wheel Plunges Into 60 Feet of Water While Going at Full Speed -- Driver, Floating Unconscious, Rescued and Revived.
-----

New York, Nov. 8. -- A big motor car traveling more than thirty miles an hour, driven by Henry Goodsell, 17 years old, of No. 324 West Seventy-second street, its sole occupant, went through the open counter-balance draw on the new Eastchester bridge over Pelham bay last night, and plunged down into sixty feet of water.

Young Goodsell, who said he was the owner of the car, had taken a party of friends to New Rochelle and was returning to his home alone and driving at high speed along the road when he came in sight of the bridge.  The structure was recently opened and is not completed.  Instead of iron gates to protect passengers a heavy rope was used.

Michael Selig, one of the bridge tenders, was standing at the rope barrier as the draw had been opened to permit a vessel to pass through.  He saw the lights of the approaching car and realized that it was travelling at a high rate of speed.  The red lanterns hanging to the rope had evidently failed to warn the driver of the car, and Selig picked up one of them and waved it frantically as a signal for the automobile to stop, shouting a warning at the same time.

Goodsell put on the brakes, but too late, and the car tore through the rope barrier, ran up the platform and with a loud splash disappeared beneath the water.  The car barely missed being caught between the ends of the platform as they came together.

Selig shouted for help and called over the rail of the bridge below in a vain attempt to get a response from the driver of the car.  Failing, he climbed down one of the piers and set out in a rowboat to try to find the man.

Engineer John Beyer and Bridge Tender Elijah Miller, stationed on the opposite side of the span, had witnessed the accident and heard Selig's call for aid.  They also set out in a small boat and joined in the search.  After a few minutes they came upon the body of Goodsell.  He was unconscious, but was floating face up on top of the water.

A call was sent to the Fordham hospital, three miles away, and the three men worked over Goodsell while waiting for the ambulance.  They succeeded in resuscitating him and bringing him back to consciousness just as the ambulance arrived.  He gave his name and address.  The surgeon found that several of his ribs had been fractured and removed him to the hospital.  No attempt was made to recover the automobile, but a float was set to mark the place where it had disappeared."

Source:  AUTOMOBILE LEAPS THROUGH DRAW INTO BAY -- With Driver at Wheel Plunges Into 60 Feet of Water While Going at Full Speed -- Driver, Floating Unconscious, Rescued and Revived, The Topeka Daily Capital [Topeka, KS], Nov. 9, 1908, Vol. XXXII, No. 264, p. 1, cols. 4-6 (Note:  Paid subscription required to access via this link).  

"AUTOMOBILE AND BOY DROP INTO BAY
-----
Large Touring Car, Driven by Henry Goodsell, Plunges Through Draw of East Chester Bridge.
-----
LAD'S LIFE IS SAVED
-----

Driving a large touring automobile at a high rate of speed, Henry Goodsell, seventeen years old, who lives at No. 234 West Seventy-second street, plunged through the open draw of the East Chester Bridge, over Pelham Bay, yesterday afternoon, and the boy and machine tumbled thirty-five feet into the stream below.  Young Goodsell was rescued just in time to save his life, but the automobile lies at the bottom of the bay.  The boy was taken to the Fordham Hospital, where it was found he was suffering from a fractured rib, possibly internal injuries and submersion.

Alone in the car, Goodsell was on his way home from City Island when he approached the bridge.  The structure has not been finished, and in lieu of a gate which could be closed against vehicles and pedestrians when the draw is open ropes are stretched across the roadway.

It was about half-past five o'clock when Michael Seelig, watchman on the bridge, saw the automobile coming along at a furious pace, and he ran out and waved his arms, at the same time shouting to John Byer, engineer in charge of the construction work, to close the draw.

Before Byer could reach the levers the car had cut through the ropes as if they were threads of silk, and as the boy uttered a scream of fright the machine turned a somersault in the air and, striking the water with a splash that sent up a geyser, sank to the bottom.  Seelig ran to the foot of one of the piers, jumped into a boat and rowed toward the spot where the machine and boy had gone down.  Byer and Elijah Miller, a bridge tender, also put out in another rowboat, but before they could pull far Goodsell had risen and sunk several times.

He had gone under the surface again when both boats reached the spot, and Byer, stripping off only his coat, plunged overboard.  He caught the lad in his arms and just managed to lift him into Seelig's boat.  When the shore was reached Goodsell was taken to Geck's Hotel and a call for an ambulance was sent to Fordham Hospital, three miles away.  Meantime, the three men worked over the unconscious boy, and when Dr. O'Reilly arrived he said that while his condition was serious it was likely that he would recover.

In the hospital Goodsell told the policemen that he as the owner of the automobile, but because of his youth this statement was doubted, and an investigation was begun.  It was promptly learned that the lad had told the truth.  He is the son of a lawyer now dead, and lives with his mother at the address he gave.  When an inquirer called there Mrs. Goodsell was at a front window, watching for her son, and she fainted when she learned of the accident.  When she had been revived sufficiently she started for Fordham Hospital to see the boy."

Source:  AUTOMOBILE AND BOY DROP INTO BAY -- Large Touring Car, Driven by Henry Goodsell, Plunges Through Draw of East Chester Bridge -- LAD'S LIFE IS SAVED, N.Y. Herald, Nov. 7, 1908, p. 1, col. 5.  

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Below are examples of previous postings that address the histories of the various Pelham Bridges that have spanned Eastchester Bay for the last two centuries.

Thu., Oct. 13, 2016:  The Eastchester Bridge Company Raised Tolls on Pelham Bridge Before It Was Even Built.

Wed., Oct. 12, 2016:  More on the Early History of Pelham Bridge Including Ownership of the Bridge Between 1834 and 1860.

Tue., Oct. 11, 2016:  Is It Possible The First Pelham Bridge Built in About 1815 Was Repaired After Near Destruction by a Storm?

Wed., Oct. 1, 2014:  Bridge Keepers of the Pelham Bridge from 1870 to 1872.

Mon., Jul. 21, 2014:  Image of the Second Pelham Bridge Built in 1834 From a Sketch Created in 1865.

Thu., Jul. 17, 2014:  Sabotage Brought Down the 70-Ton Draw Span of Pelham Bridge in 1908 and Delayed its Opening. 

Tue., Jun. 10, 2014: Construction of the Concrete Arch Pelham Bridge.

Mon., May 12, 2014: The March 6, 1812 New York Statute Authorizing Construction of the Pelham Bridge.

Tue., Sep. 22, 2009: Names of Early "Keepers of Pelham Bridge" Appointed by Westchester County.

Thu., Jan. 08, 2009: Another Brief History of The Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Jan. 1, 2009: A Brief History of Pelham Bridge.

Wed., Jan. 2, 2008: New York State Senate Report on Petition by Inhabitants of Westchester to Allow Construction of Toll Bridge Across Eastchester Creek in 1834.

Tue., Aug. 28, 2007: The Laying Out of Pelham Avenue From Fordham to Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Wed., Jul. 4, 2007: 1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of the Pelham Bridge.

Fri., Jul. 22, 2007: 1857 Real Estate Advertisement for Sale of "Country Seat" at Pelham Bridge.

Fri., May 18, 2007: Celebration at Pelham Bridge in 1872.

Wed., May 16, 2007: Board of Supervisors of Westchester County Vote to Build New Iron Bridge to Replace Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Tue., May 15, 2007: The Owner of the Pelham Bridge Hotel Sold it for the Princely Sum of $22,000 in 1869.

Mon., May 14, 2007: Plans to Widen Shore Road in the Town of Pelham in 1869.

Fri., May 11, 2007: A Sad Attempted Suicide at Pelham Bridge in 1869.

Thu., Dec. 08, 2005: The First Stone Bridge Built Across Eastchester Creek in Pelham, 1814-1815.

Thu., Aug. 18, 2005: The Opening of the New Iron "Pelham Bridge" in 1871.

Tue., Aug. 9, 2005: Cock Fighting at Pelham Bridge in the 19th Century.

Thu., Jul. 21, 2005: Today's Remnants of the Bartow Station on the Branch Line Near City Island.

Tue., Jun. 28, 2005: The Hotel and Bar Room at Pelham Bridge.

Thu., Mar. 24, 2005: The Bartow Area of Pelham in the 19th Century: Where Was It?

Wed., Mar. 23, 2005: Prize Fighting at Pelham Bridge in 1884.

For more about the Pelham Bridge and its history, see Pelham Bridge, Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelham_Bridge (visited May 6, 2014).

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.
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More on Installation of "Silent Cop" Traffic Lights and Traffic Semaphores in Pelham in the 1920s

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Pelham has had automobile traffic issues for as long as, well, as long as there have been automobiles.  Indeed, from the earliest years of the twentieth century until today, Pelham lies in the path of tens of thousands of motorists traveling to and from New York City.  In fact, in the years before completion of the Hutchinson River Parkway, I-95, and other major thoroughfares in the region, motorists used roadways such as Boston Post Road and Shore Road to travel along the eastern coastline northeast of New York City.  That meant traffic issues for little Pelham.

As I have noted before, by about the time of World War I, traffic was becoming so heavy on Boston Post Road and accidents were becoming so frequent that a traffic cop was assigned to direct traffic at Red Church Corner, known today as Four Corners (the intersection of Boston Post Road and Pelhamdale Avenue).  Pelham Manor posted John McCormack to handle the duties.  He became known as "Mack," the "Smiling Cop," who became famous and even played himself in a movie.  See Mon., Feb. 24, 2014:  Mack, the Movie Star Traffic Cop of Pelham Manor, 1916-1928.  

During the Roaring Twenties, however, traffic in Pelham exploded.  Two things quickly became clear.  First, traffic was an issue around the clock -- not just during the workday.  Second, intersections throughout all three villages were experiencing a rise in traffic and, in numerous instances, increases in the number of intersection accidents.  It was time to harness the power of "Silent Cops" as early traffic signals were known.

I have written before about installations of so-called "Silent Cops" in Pelham as early as 1922.  See Wed., Nov. 29, 2017:  Pelham Grows Up: Installation of "Silent Cop" Traffic Lights and Traffic Semaphores in the 1920s.  Such Silent Cops at the time took the form of simple traffic lights or simple traffic semaphores, examples of which are pictured below.

1925 Horni Signal Manufacturing Company Traffic Light. 

Early Traffic Semaphore.

By 1927, the use of early traffic lights and traffic semaphores was proving itself effective in Pelham.  Consequently, the community began expanding the use of such signals as traffic continued to grow.  These, however, were not modern, timed, and automated traffic lights.  Rather, they were lights and semaphore lights that were mechanically controlled by a Police Officer who managed traffic on particularly congested thoroughfares like Boston Post Road.

Thus, for example, during the summer of 1927, Pelham Manor Police Chief Philip Gargan oversaw installation of three traffic semaphore lights at two problematic Boston Post Road intersections:  Fowler Avenue and Esplanade.

By 1927, in fact, both intersections were problematic.  The Fowler Avenue intersection was particularly bad because, at the time, there was a slight jog in the roadway just to the east of the intersection that created a blind curve along Boston Post Road immediately before the intersection.  There were many accidents at the intersection caused by cars pulling out from Fowler onto Boston Post Road just as vehicles rounded the blind curve and struck them in the intersection.  Indeed, the local newspaper, The Pelham Sun, described the intersection as "a dangerous intersection, with a blind curve just east of it, [that] has been the scene of many accidents."

Esplanade was another problematic intersection.  Vehicles traveling north and south on that busy road would try to scoot across the heavily-congested Boston Post Road causing accidents as well.  In July, 1927, Police Chief Philip Gargan oversaw installation of two traffic semaphore lights at that intersection to control northbound and southbound traffic on Esplanade.  At the same time Chief Gargan oversaw installation of another traffic semaphore light at the Fowler Avenue intersection.

The effect of the three new traffic signals was immediate.  Indeed, the local newspaper seemed almost surprised that there were no accidents at the Fowler Avenue intersection during heavy weekend traffic the weekend of July 23-24 that year.  The newspaper reported:  "The heavy week end traffic was more easily managed with the assistance of the lights which are situated at Fowler avenue and the Esplanade.  There were no reports of accidents at these points which ordinarily present a hazard during heavy traffic hours."

Of course, not all motorists complied with the new signals.  Indeed, even with a police officer operating the signals, some motorists simply blew through red lights and, of course, were ticketed.  Again, as The Pelham Sun reported, "there were those who failed to comply with the code set down by the red and green lights.  Tonight in Pelham Manor police court.  Judge Anthony M. Menkel will impose penalty on several motorists who were served with summonses when they passed traffic signals set against them."

As always, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same, even in the little Town of Pelham. . . . 

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"Boston Road Traffic Lights Prove Successful
-----
No Accidents Reported At Dangerous Intersections After Installation of Light Semaphore
-----

The three new traffic lights recently installed on the Boston road have not been without their effect.  The heavy week end traffic was more easily managed with the assistance of the lights which are situated at Fowler avenue and the Esplanade.  There were no reports of accidents at these points which ordinarily present a hazard during heavy traffic hours.

Although motorists in general observed the signals there were those who failed to comply with the code set down by the red and green lights.  Tonight in Pelham Manor police court.  Judge Anthony M. Menkel will impose penalty on several motorists who were served with summonses when they passed traffic signals set against them.

On the whole Chief of Police Philip Gargan, under whose direction the traffic lights were installed, is highly pleased with the new system.  Fowler avenue, a dangerous intersection, with a blind curve just east of it, has been the scene of many accidents.

It has been necessary to erect two lights at the Esplanade to accommodate traffic on both north and south-bound thoroughfares."

Source:  Boston Road Traffic Lights Prove Successful -- No Accidents Reported At Dangerous Intersections After Installation of Light Semaphore, The Pelham Sun, Jul. 29, 1927, Vol. 18, No. 23, p. 10, col. 2.  

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The Long Tradition of the Mad Vehicle Scramble at the Pelham Train Station Each Day

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"The more things change, the more they stay the same."

-- Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr in Les Guêpes, January 1849.

Social media, including the Mothers of Pelham (MOPs) and Dads of Pelham (DOPs) Facebook pages, frequently buzz with complaints of the daily mad scramble among vehicles and pedestrians jockeying for position as commuter trains from New York City arrive at Pelham Station on the New Haven Line.  Drivers waiting to pick up their harried commuters are park their vehicles in helter-skelter fashion, blocking access to station parking lots.  Harried commuters dart in and out of traffic without regard to crosswalks.  Unhappy drivers are stuck in long lines trying to exit the station.  Commuters race to waiting taxis only to learn that all are full.  Ah the joys of the Pelham commute!

Yet, such madcap hijinks have been part of the arrival at Pelham Train Station for nearly one hundred years (or longer)!  Indeed, a lengthy editorial appeared in a local newspaper nearly ninety years ago assailing local drivers who waited at the station for commuters without regard to the flow of traffic at a time when Pelham police routinely directed traffic in and out of the train station lots.  Indeed, the editorial suggested a host of safety improvements that it urged though many -- to this day -- have never been implemented.

During at least the late 1920s and 1930s, the Village of Pelham (Pelham Heights) Police Department had a police officer meet most late day arriving trains and direct traffic departing the station from the center of the intersection of the Connecticut-bound-side station exit, 1st Street, and Corlies Avenue.  The presence of the officer, however, seemed to make little difference, according to The Pelham Sun.

Among the complaints highlighted by the newspaper in its 1931 editorial were the following:

• Drivers eager to get away ahead of other machines parked too closely to the entrances, blocking incoming vehicles or forcing them to steer widely into the plaza.
  
• Incoming cars when trains arrive sped across the plaza in front of cars moving out.
  
• Latecomers parked across from the entrance to the plaza disregarding and blocking vehicles exiting the plaza.
  
• Two cars often parked in spaces measured for three vehicles.
  
• Motorists parked at right angles to, and in front of cars at the curb, often blocking the passage of three vehicles.
  
• Disorderly parking made it difficult for drivers to turn and back into parking places, thus adding to the confusion.
  
• When passing out of the plaza, motorists failed to signal and, thus, indicate to the traffic officer the direction in which they expected to turn; instead they cut across traffic going in opposite directions and blocked the intersection.
  
• First Street traffic failed to halt below the plaza entrances when cars were moving out; cars cut across the stream of traffice and halted before the officer, who is stationed at the center of the intersection.
  
• Although there is ample room to park cars at the easterly end of the plaza, cars were always "crammed at the westerly end of the plaza."

Of course, nearly ninety years later, the same could have been written about the commuter arrivals last night (and every night during the intervening ninety years).  

The more things change, the more they stay the same. . . . . 

Undated Postcard View of the Pelham Station on the New

Haven Main Line.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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"THE DEPOT PARKING PROBLEM
-----

The Cause

A survey conducted by The Pelham Sun during evening rush hours at Pelham depot this week shows that the situation has become serious mainly because of faults of motorists who meet incoming trains.  Eagerness to secure an advantageous parking place, or maintain the same one every evening; and anxiety to rush away regardless of the feelings of other motorists and pedestrians, is seen as the cause of traffic congestion.

The following facts were noted:  Although there is ample room to park cars at the easterly end of the plaza, cars are crammed at the westerly end of the plaza.  

Drivers eager to get away ahead of other machines park close to the entrances, making it necessary for incoming machines to steer widely into the plaza.  Women drivers hesitate to park against the fence at the top of the bank at the westerly end of the platform.

There is little semblance of order in parking.  Motorists unable to back their cars against the platform park at right angles to and in front of cars at the curb, often blocking the passage of three machines.

The disorderly parking makes it difficult for women drivers to turn and back into parking places, thus adding to the confusion.

The designated parking places are disregarded.  Two cars are often parked in space measured for three.

When trains arrive drivers start their engines and leave parking places to move along the plaza seeking passengers.

Incoming cars when trains arrive speed across the plaza in front of cars moving out.

Latecomers park across the entrance to the plaza disregarding machines moving out.  

Pelhamwood and North Pelham cars are parked on the Pelham Heights side of the plaza although there is ample room on the North Pelham side of the depot.

When passing out of the plaza, motorists fail to indicate to the traffic officer the direction in which they will turn; but cut across traffic going in opposite directions.

First street traffic fails to halt below the plaza entrances when cars are moving out; cars cut across the stream and halt before the officer, who is stationed at the center of the intersection.

A Solution

As a solution to the traffic problem at Pelham depot The Pelham Sun offers the following suggestion;

Construct a curbing at the top of the embankment at the westerly section of the plaza, against which motorists may park their machines in the same manner as is done against the platform.

Eliminate the freight station to provide ample room for motorists to turn their machines in a single curve.

Establish a manually operated signal light which will halt all traffic when pedestrians are crossing First street; permit traffic to pass off the easterly and westerly sections of the plaza alternately; halt first street traffic fifty feet from the plaza entrances when cars are leaving the plaza.  This semaphore will permit both passages to the plaza to be cleared without crossing traffic, and will keep incoming cars or traffic on First street and Corlies avenue from cutting into the outgoing traffic from the plaza.

Urge all motorists to observe parking regulations.

Urge that North Pelham and Pelhamwood commuters have their machines parked at the North Pelham side of the depot."

Source:  THE DEPOT PARKING PROBLEM, The Pelham Sun, Jun. 5, 1931, Vol. 22, No. 10, p. 5, cols. 2-3.

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Early Fatal Automobile Accident in Pelham Manor in 1909

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It truly is difficult to imagine how profoundly different parts of Pelham are today from what they were like barely a century ago.  Take Pelhamdale Avenue between Shore Road and Boston Post Road for example.

In 1909, the roadway was a dark, desolate, and lonely stretch.  There were virtually no homes between a cluster near Christ Church all the way to the New Haven Branch Line railroad overpass where a few homes stood on Manor Circle adjacent to the railroad tracks and Pelham Manor Depot.  Old growth woods lined both sides of the roadway.  With no streetlights, the towering trees made the roadway exceedingly dark at night.  In addition, with virtually no homes yet built along either side of the road, the ground on each side had not been leveled and embankments stood along the roadway.

Along that dark roadway at about 1:00 a.m. on September 6, 1909, Mount Vernon resident William Hobby was driving home from an evening of work.  In his car were three fellow musicians.  Indeed, the entire group of men were all talented and well-trained musicians who played music for churches and a temple in the region.  The group had finished performing at an event at the famed Bay View Hotel on City island that night.

 The Bay View Hotel, City Island, Circa 1904. Source:  Image from

Post Card Postmarked in 1904.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

The tiny little automobile had a rumble seat.  William Hobby was driving.  Joseph Eisinger, 63 years old, of 522 West 112th Street in New York City, was in the passenger seat next to William Hobby.  Henry Claussen, aged 54, of 319 East 87th Street in New York City was in the rumble seat in the rear.  It appears that the fourth musician, 27-year-old Sidney B. Chase of 22 North Fourth Avenue in Mount Vernon was crouched on the floor of the car, likely beneath Eisinger's feet.

1909 Advertisement Depicting Example of Automobile with

Front Driver and Passenger Seats and a Rumble Seat in the

Rear.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

As the car bounced along Pelhamdale Avenue headed westward toward Boston Post Road something terrible happened.  Precisely what happened was disputed thereafter.  According to the driver, William Hobby, about 300 feet east of the New Haven Branch Line railroad overpass above Pelhamdale Avenue, a tire on the vehicle suddenly exploded.  As the car veered out of control, the steering mechanism "became disarranged."  Hobby lost control and the automobile veered off the roadway into an embankment with a large rock.  When the vehicle struck the rock, it nearly stopped, throwing all four men out of the car.  Once the men hit the ground, the vehicle chugged along and scraped several trees along the embankment until it stopped.

Fortuitously, Pelham Manor Police Officer James Butler, in his third year with the force, was nearby and heard the crash.  He hustled to the scene and found the wrecked vehicle and four men lying on the ground.  He contacted headquarters for assistance.  

A local physician was called to the scene.  Joseph Eisinger and Henry Claussen were badly injured.  The other two men were bruised and banged up, but not seriously injured.  Eisinger was in critical condition with a fractured skull.  The police contacted a local garage to arrange for an automobile to take Eisinger and Claussen to Mount Vernon Hospital.  On the way, Joseph Eisinger died in the car.  Claussen survived.

The automobile was just coming into its own in Pelham in 1909.  Though there had been other automobile accidents in the town before that time, this one was notable not only due to the fatality, but also because the men were such well known musicians.  Sadly, this would not be the last fatal automobile accident in our little town.  Many since have followed.

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"MAN WAS KILLED IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT AT PELHAM MANOR EARLY YESTERDAY
-----
Car Operated by William Hobby Goes Over Embankment in Dark Road and Joseph Eisinger, of New York, Dies From His Injuries on Way to the Hospital
-----
Henry Clausen Also Hurt -- Owner and Other Occupants Escape With Bruises -- Car Wrecked -- Were on Their Way Home From City Island
-----

A fatality attended an automobile accident about 1 o'clock yesterday morning in Pelham Manor, when the car owned and driven by William Hobby, of this city, and containing, besides Mr. Hobby, Sidney B. Chase, aged 27, of 22 North Fourth avenue; Joseph Eisinger, aged 63, of 522 West 112th street, and Henry Claussen, aged 54, of 319 East 87th street, New York, struck a rock and ran up an embankment on the north side of Pehamdale avenue about 300 feet east of the bridge of the Harlem River division of the New Haven road.

Mr. Eisinger was thrown out and struck on his head, sustaining a fractured skull.  He died shortly afterward while being hurried to the Mount Vernon hospital in an automobile.  Claussen and Chase were also thrown out, but were not severely injured.  Claussen received a scalp wound and a contusion of the back and was taken to the Mount Vernon hospital.  Dr. Woodruff, who attended him, stated this morning that he was not seriously hurt and did not show signs at present of being internally injured.  Mr. Hobby suffered some bruises and is confined to his home today, it is reported.  

Both Hobby and Chase had remarkable escapes from being severely injured.  Erroneous reports appeared in the New York papers that Mr. Hobby was thrown forty feet out of the car.  This is not so.  According to the statements of the Pelham Manor police, Mr. Hobby, who was driving the car, was thrown only a few feet after it ran up the embankment.

Mr. Hobby and the three men, who are musicians, were returning from the Bay View hotel at City Island.  Eisinger and Claussen are violinists.  They were driving along Pelhamdale avenue, which is one of the darkest thoroughfares in the town of Pelham on account of the woods, when, as they reached a point about 300 feet east of the railroad bridge, a tire exploded, according to Mr. Hobby's statement at the time.  At the same time the steering gear of the machine became disarranged.  Mr. Hobby lost control of the car and it shot up an embankment on the north side of the road.  It first struck a rock, which caused it to stop so suddenly that all of the occupants were hurled out.  Officer Butler, of the Pelham Manor police force, heard the crash of the car as it struck the rock and then ground along into some of the small trees, situated along the embankment.  

When the policeman reached the scene, he saw four men lying on the ground.  Shortly after his arrival he saw one man, who later proved to be Eisinger, lying about 20 feet in front of the car on the road.  Near him was Claussen.  About that time Chase raised himself from the ground and exclaimed 'I am lucky that I was not killed.'  Shortly afterward Mr. Hobby revived.

Officer Butler notified police headquarters of the accident, and Dr. Washburn of Pelham Manor, 
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MAN WAS
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was summoned.  He examined Eisinger and Claussen and found that the former was in a critical condition and ordered that they be removed to the hospital at once.

An automobile was secured from Reynold's garage and the two injured men, in company with Dr. Washburn, were hurried to the Mount Vernon hospital.  On the way to that instituion Eisinger died and was later removed to Van Arsdale's morgue.

After the injured men had been taken away, Chief Marks ordered Officer Butler to place Mr. Hobby under arrest, and he was brought to police headquarters.  Coroner Boedecker was notified of the accident and went to police headquarters in Pelham Manor.  When asked as to what caused the accident, Mr. Hobby told the coroner that one of his tires blew out, as far as he knew, and that he consequently lost control of the car.  The coroner released him under $5,000 bail to appear for examination at the inquest which will be held next Monday evening at 8 o'clock.

Coroner Boedecker said this morning that there was no evidence to show that any of the tires on the car blew out.  As far as could be ascertained, it appeared as if the machine suddenly left the road and struck a rock.  The coroner also said this morning that in view of the fact that an external examination failed to show the extent of Eisinger's injuries and what caused his death, he directed that an autopsy be performed.

This was done yesterday afternoon by Dr. Washburn, of Pelham Manor, and Dr. Knapp, of Mount Vernon, and showed that Eisinger's skull had been fractured and that death had been caused by cerebral hemorrhage and shock.

Another version this morning is that Hobby and Eisinger were sitting in the front seat and Chase on the floor of the car.  In the rumble seat in back was Claussen.

Yesterday morning Chief Marks, Coroner Boedecker and two experts went to the scene of the accident and examined the car.  They found the two front wheels smashed, the spokes of one of them being torn out.  The axle was also bent.  The car was brought to this city in the afternoon.  

Chief Marks declared this morning that the car was so badly wrecked that it must have been travelling [sic] faster than twelve miles, although Mr. Hobby said that the machine was not going faster than that.

The dead man was a musician of note, being organist of St. Aloysiuis Church, West 132nd street and of Temple Beth-El, Jersey City.  He was a composer of church music as well.  He was born in Copenhagen.  In 1846, and studied music at Leipsic [sic], Prague and Copenhagen, before going to New York in 1867.  He was organist in St. Jerome's church in the Bronx for twenty years and at St. Lawrence's church for ten years.  His Easter compositions are in use in the large churches thoughout the country.  He is survived by a widow and five children.

The body was taken to Mr. Eisinger's late home, in New York, last evening, and the funeral services will be held tomorrow afternoon at 2 o'clock."

Source:   MAN WAS KILLED IN AN AUTO ACCIDENT AT PELHAM MANOR EARLY YESTERDAY -- Car Operated by William Hobby Goes Over Embankment in Dark Road and Joseph Eisinger, of New York, Dies From His Injuries on Way to the Hospital -- Henry Clausen Also Hurt -- Owner and Other Occupants Escape With Bruises -- Car Wrecked -- Were on Their Way Home From City Island, The Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], Sep. 7, 1909, No. 6026, p. 1, cols. 1-2 & p. 6, col. 4.


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I have written before about the early days of automobiles in Pelham.  For a few examples, see:

Wed., Aug. 30, 2017:  Automobile Club "Run" from the Hunter Island Inn on the Pelham Manor Border in 1901.

Fri., Apr. 21, 2017:  The Great "Two-Gallon Efficiency" Run of 1906 Through Pelham for Early Automobiles.

Mon., Mar. 06, 2017:  "Fool Automobiling" in Pelham in 1906.

Mon., Dec. 12, 2016:  One of the Earliest Illegal Motorcar Races Tore Through Pelham in 1905.

Thu., Dec. 01, 2016:  Pelham Manor Sided With the Anti-Automobilists in 1902.

Wed., Nov. 09, 2016:  Who Drove the First Automobile in Pelham?

Thu., Nov. 05, 2015:  The Earliest Days of the Automobile in Pelham.

Thu., Jan. 07, 2010:  Pelham Manor Police Establish Speed Traps on Shore Road in 1910 to Catch Those Traveling Faster than Fifteen Miles Per Hour.

Mon., Jul. 20, 2009:  Early Automobile Accident and Explosion on Shore Road Near Travers Island in 1902.

Wed., Jan. 21, 2009:  "Fool Driving" in Pelham in the New-Fangled Automobile in 1906.

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Hit and Run Automobile Accident at Today's Fifth and Lincoln Avenues in 1906 Outraged North Pelham

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The "autoist" made his turn far too quickly that Tuesday morning, May 22, 1906 at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and Fourth Street (today's Lincoln Avenue).  As the driver turned, a trolley car was stopped in the street with a handful of passengers aboard.  

The driver tried to whiz around the left side of the trolley but miscalculated.  The automobile sideswiped the trolley car, ripping off brass rods down the length of the trolley.  According to an outraged front page account of the accident in a local newspaper, the auto struck the trolley "with considerable force."  The newspaper further stated "Reports differ as to the effect the crashing had on the passengers.  Some say that there was considerable screaming, while the conductor in charge said this morning that the passengers did not appear to be frightened."

The driver sped away from the scene of the accident "as if nothing had happened."  

Residents of the Village of North Pelham were outraged.  Even before the hit and run accident, they were "disturbed over the reckless speeding of autoists on Fifth avenue."  They wanted Village President James Reilley "to do away with the auto nuisance or remedy it in some fashion."

North Pelham residents were unhappy because, in their view, the Village of Pelham Manor already had "attended nicely to the auto question."  Pelham Manor had installed speed limit signs throughout the Village.  North Pelham had not.  Pelham Manor was in the midst of a speeding crackdown, particularly on Shore Road where the very weekend before the hit and run accident in North Pelham a speed trap had been set up on Shore Road though not a single driver of the forty who passed had to be arrested for speeding.  

Only two years before, in 1904, New York State had become the first state to enact automobile speed limits via State statute (20 mph country / 10 mph city).  North Pelham residents believed that if North Pelham officials weren't willing to enact local speeding ordinances, at least they should enforce State speeding laws!  

Little Pelham was, once again, feeling growing pains.

Speed Limit Sign Like Those Installed in the Village of Pelham
Manor in 1902.  NOTE:  Click on Image to Enlarge.

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I have written before about the early years of the automobile in Pelham.   For a few examples, see:    

Thu., Dec. 01, 2016:  Pelham Manor Sided With the Anti-Automobilists in 1902.

Wed., Nov. 09, 2016:   Who Drove the First Automobile in Pelham?  

Thu., Nov. 05, 2015:   The Earliest Days of the Automobile in Pelham.    

Thu., Jan. 07, 2010:   Pelham Manor Police Establish Speed Traps on Shore Road in 1910 to Catch Those Traveling Faster than Fifteen Miles Per Hour.  

Mon., Jul. 20, 2009:   Early Automobile Accident and Explosion on Shore Road Near Travers Island in 1902.


*          *          *          *          *

"AUTOISTS IN NORTH PELHAM TO BE WATCHED
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Authorities There Will Take Action Regarding All Speeding
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SERIOUS ACCIDENT WAS NARROWLY AVERTED LATELY
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North Pelham, May 24. -- Residents of North Pelham are somewhat disturbed over the reckless speeding of autoists on Fifth avenue.  They are wondering why it is that the village officials do not post signs in conspicuous places, calling attention to the fact that the officials will enforce the state law relative to auto speeding, etc.  President Reilley was asked this morning if the board had as yet taken any steps to do away with the auto nuisance or remedy it in some way, and he said that the officials had not as yet taken any action, but they probably would at the next regular meeting.  This means that signs will probably be erected as have already been placed in Pelham Manor.

Last Tuesday morning there came near being a serious accident on Fifth avenue, when a local autoist made a quick turn and ran his machine into a North Pelham car, knocking off two of the brass rods along the side of the car.  The autoist sped on his way as if nothing had happened.  The accident occurred near the junction of Fourth street and Fifth avenue.  The North Pelham car was waiting for the Pelham Manor car and was standing still when the above mentioned autoist whizzed by on the left.  He brought his machine too close to the car, with the result that it struck it with considerable force, knocking off the brass rods.  There were only a few passengers in the car at the time and it was fortunate that no one was hurt.  Reports differ as to the effect the crashing had on the passengers.  Some say that there was considerable screaming, while the conductor in charge said this morning that the passengers did not appear to be frightened.

The Pelham Manor officials have attended nicely to the auto question.  Last Sunday afternoon, President Charles C. Pond and Chief of Police Marks measured off an eighth of a mile on the Shore road and timed about forty autoists.  Chief Marks stated that there were very few violations, but no serious ones -- none to warrant any arrests.  It is understood that both Mr. Marks and President Pond were satisfied with the manner in which autoists were manifesting regarding for the speed limit law.  Two new signs have recently been put up on the Shore road."

Source:  AUTOISTS IN NORTH PELHAM TO BE WATCHED -- Authorities There Will Take Action Regarding All Speeding -- SERIOUS ACCIDENT WAS NARROWLY AVERTED LATELY, Daily Argus [Mount Vernon, NY], May 24, 1906, No. 4325, p. 1, col. 1. 

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Home Page of the Historic Pelham Blog.

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