Details of Railway Accidents in the Ottawa Area
1926, August 2 - Crossing collision, Bells Corners, CNR., Beachburg sub., one fatality
Ottawa Citizen 3 August 1926 DRIVER KILLED WHEN HIS CAR HIT BY TRAIN Alexander Krantzberg Meets Instant Death at Railway Crossing Near Bell's Corners. Gas Tank Explodes, REPORT WHISTLE AND BELL BOTH SOUNDING Inquest Opened. Deceased Had Been In This Country Only Three Months. When the auto which he was driving was struck by C.N.R. Pembroke-Ottawa train No. 120 at the railway crossing on the Richmond road near Bell's Corners yesterday morning, Alexander Krantzberg, aged 30 years, of 253 York street, was instantly killed. Following the collision the motor car took fire and before the body had been extricated from the wreckage it was badly burned. Mr. Krantzberg was a clothing peddler, and about ten o'clock left Ottawa in a Ford sedan en route for points west of the city. The smash occurred at the C.N.R. crossing just west of the Bell's Corners station, and about half a mile north of Bell's Corners village. Aproachlngr the crossing, the motor car driven by Krantzberg was travelling about twenty iniles per hour, and the train, which was on its way to Ottawa, had a speed of about 25 miles per hour. In addition to the locomotive the train was mads up of three passenger coaches and a baggage car. Mr. R. K. Fair, 17 Robinson avenue, was engineer on the train and Mr. Seaton conductor. Car Takes Fire. The
force of the collision caused the gasoline tank of the auto to explode.
This caused the remains of the car, which with the body of Mr.
Krantzberg was hurled into the ditch, to take fire. The train was
brought to a stop in about 400 feet following the accident, and
passengers and train crew hurried back to the wrecked auto, and
although the fire was speedily extinguished the clothing was burned
from the body which was also badly scorched. Mr. Kranzberg was dead and
a large wound on his head indicated that he had been killed instantly
and did not die from the burns which followed. Part of the auto was
carried on the front of the locomotive. Whistle and Bell Sounded. Matthias
Boisvenue, who had been working for W. H. Faulkner, had just passed
over the railway crossing a few minutes before and met the motor car.
He said that he heard the bell of the engine ringing and the whistle
blowing for the crossing. "When I noticed the speed with which the ill-fated motor car was approaching the railway crossing, with a train about to pass," said Mr. Boisvenue, "the thought struck me that it was travelling too fast for safety. I turned around just in time to see the smash and to witness the small auto being hurled off the road by the passing train." Mr. Boisvenue was one of the first ones to reach the unfortunate man after the car had been struck. The body of Krantzberg was placed on board the train and was brought to the city and removed to Burney & Son's undertaking parlor. Coroner J. E. Craig, M.D., opened an inquest yesterday afternoon and after the usual formalities adjourned the hearing until Monday evening next at the courthouse, There is no automatic warning bell on this crossing, but the view is clear from both sides. Mr. Boisvenue was only thirty or forty feet from the crossing when the accident took place. Canadian National Railway officials are at a loss to understand how the motorist failed to be acquainted of the train's approach. The train crew stated that the whistle had been blown for the crossing and in fact was still blowing when the automobile was struck. - - - Ottawa Citizen 10 August 1962 No blame attached for fatal accident Verdict given on death of Alexander Krantzberg. A verdict of accidental death with no blame attached to anyone, last night was returned by a coroner's jury at the courthouse which inquired into the death of the late Alexander Kranzberg, aged 30 years, of 253 York Street, who was killed when a Pembroke-Ottawa C.N.R. train struck his motor car on a level crossing on the Richmond Road, near Bells Corners, on the morning of August 2nd. The evidence produced by various witnesses showed that the motor car had been struck at the crossing, part of it had been carried some distance, and the remains of it took fire. Members of the train crew all testified that the engine bell had been ringing and the whistle had been blowing when the train approached the crossing and before the smash took place. Among the witnesses were engineer J. G. Loney, fireman P. H. Garvey, conductor A. A. Seaton, and Mr. Matthias Boisvenue, who witnessed the accident. Dr. J. E. Craig, coroner, presided. Mr. J. A. Ritchie, K.C., acted for the crown and Mr. J. J. O'Meara, of the firm of O'Meara and McHugh, appeared for the relatives of the deceased. |
Updated 25 November 2020