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Chicago Tribune
25-05-2025
- Chicago Tribune
On a rainy May day 75 years ago, the ‘Green Hornet' streetcar disaster left more than 30 dead
On May 25, 1950, Walter Skonicki sat down on his couch to perform his evening ritual of listening to the radio or perusing the newspapers. 'What the heck!' he exclaimed upon hearing an explosion and feeling a blast of air coming through his living room window at 6242 S. State St. Looking out, he got a preview of the Tribune's front-page headline the next morning: 'TRUCK-TROLLEY FIRE! 33 DIE.' The accompanying story reported that the fuel in a gasoline tanker became a fireball after colliding with a rush-hour streetcar, a sleek new model dubbed the 'Green Hornet.' The death toll was later estimated at 34. The disaster resulted from a chain of events that started with a heavy rainfall on that May day, all of them laid out in detail in Craig Cleve's book 'The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster,' from which much of this account is taken. At 2:30 p.m., Peter Duggan, a CTA supervisor, reported that a viaduct at State and 63rd was flooded. Southbound streetcars would have to stop at 62nd Place and be sent northbound. To provide for such contingences, the CTA built reversing loops at intervals along its streetcar lines. Duggan asked for a flagman to hold up one of the trains when he pushed a long iron lever into the turnout's switching mechanism. Charles Kleim, a bus driver who'd finished his shift, was sent to warn approaching streetcars, but without a flag. That was not unusual. At the 62nd Place turnout, Kleim, who had waved down 200 streetcars with his bare hand, saw one more. It was going too fast and ignoring his frantic signals. As Kleim desperately ran toward it, the streetcar lurched into the turnout. It was trailed by the sound of crunching metal and screaming passengers. With the 63rd Street underpass now open a southbound Mack Truck drove through it. Mel Wilson, the driver, was bringing 4,000 gallons of gasoline from an Indiana refinery. Shortly after emerging from the underpass, he crossed paths with the Green Hornet coming from the turnout adjacent to Skonicki's cottage. Wilson and the motorman Paul Manning were killed by the collision. 'Survivors, suffering from shock, told conflicting stories about difficulties in opening the doors. Several said they had to kick out the glass in order to open the doors, but Beverly Clark, 14, of 6143 Wentworth Ave., said the doors swung open when she pulled an emergency cord, breaking her finger,' the Tribune reported on May 26. 'She was the first to leave the car.' The explosion ignited a number of nearby buildings. 'Hours after the flames in the street car had been extinguished, firemen still were battling the flames in the buildings. Walls collapsed in several of them,' the Tribune reported. Amid the bodies and the streetcar's twisted remains a pocket watch would be found. Its hands had stopped 6:33.
The Mainichi
25-04-2025
- General
- The Mainichi
Survivors, families of victims mark 20 yrs since JR West derailment
OSAKA (Kyodo) -- Survivors and families of victims of a 2005 West Japan Railway Co. train derailment offered prayers at an event marking the accident's anniversary on Friday, with some pledging to pass on lessons learned from the tragedy which killed 107 people. At a memorial ceremony at the site of the accident in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, JR West executives and other attendees paused for a moment of silence at 9:18 a.m., when the rush-hour commuter train crashed into a building 20 years ago and left 562 people injured. JR West President Kazuaki Hasegawa vowed at the ceremony, hosted by the company, not to let memories of the accident fade as more than 70 percent of its roughly 25,000 current employees joined the company after the derailment. "Had we not caused the accident that day, (victims) would have lived lives full of dreams and hopes," Hasegawa said before a cenotaph at the site. "I can only offer my sincere apologies for the frustration of having had lives suddenly taken away." Kentaro Kosugi, a Tokyo resident, who lost both his parents in the accident, said he wished they would have lived to meet his two children. "I think there are 107 different ways of (feeling) sadness among the bereaved families," the 41-year-old said, referring to the number of fatalities. JR West is building a facility in neighboring Osaka Prefecture to preserve train cars involved in the accident and the belongings of those who died, with its completion expected sometime in December. The facility will be closed to the public in consideration of bereaved family members opposed to the display. It is planned to be open to families of victims, officials of transportation operators in charge of safety and those who were involved in rescue efforts. The accident occurred when the seven-car train on the JR Fukuchiyama Line derailed as it entered a curve on the track and crashed into a nearby condominium building. The train was traveling at around 116 kilometers per hour, far exceeding the 70 kph speed limit. All four former JR West presidents indicted on charges of professional negligence were acquitted. The Penal Code has no mechanism for punishing organizations for such accidents, and the bereaved families have been calling for the enactment of a special law to penalize both corporations and individuals.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill could kill Gorham Connector plan
Apr. 3—Opponents of the proposed Gorham Connector took their fight to the State House on Thursday, hoping to undo prior legislation that paved the way for the Maine Turnpike Authority to plan and build the now controversial $331 million highway spur. The Legislature's transportation committee heard three hours of testimony on LD 1020, a bill that would repeal previous laws directing the authority to plan and build a toll highway extension from South Portland to Gorham. It would also order the agency to sell any land purchased for the project to the previous owners or give it to the municipalities where the properties are located. The authority has spent $6.3 million on 15 properties totaling 340 acres, or about 30% of the 50 parcels the authority would need to complete the project. The bill's supporters said they want to fully extinguish the connector proposal, even as the MTA last month enlisted the Maine Department of Transportation to conduct a review of alternative solutions to traffic congestion in towns west of Portland. The department and others opposed to the bill said the connector should be preserved as an option to be considered in the department's review. Sen. Stacey Brenner, D-Scarborough, the bill's primary sponsor, said the connector is an outdated and costly proposal that would do little to fix commuter congestion, worsen suburban sprawl and vehicle emissions, displace homes, and destroy wetlands, farmlands and forests. Brenner also noted that traffic counts dropped in the wake of the pandemic, in part because more people are working from home. "The costs far outweigh the benefits," Brenner told the committee. "We need to let this highway option go." Robb Cotiaux, president of the local Trout Unlimited chapter, urged the committee to support the bill to protect the Red Brook watershed, which stretches from Smiling Hill Farm in Westbrook to the Maine Mall area in South Portland. Gorham Town Councilor Lou Simms said the connector proposal should be abandoned and affected communities should take a more collaborative approach to finding alternative solutions to traffic congestion and residential sprawl. Myles Smith, a leader of Mainers for Smarter Transportation, said the public has been misled on the benefits of the connector proposal, which would shave an average of four minutes off rush-hour commutes. When a committee member, Rep. Wayne Parry, R-Arundel, questioned Smith's data, he said it came from an MTA study. The authority's spokesperson, Erin Courtney, clarified later that the connector would save some rush-hour commuters more than 10 minutes of travel time. Courtney also noted that the authority has spent $18 million planning and developing the connector proposal so far. Leading testimony against LD 1020 was Deputy Transportation Commissioner Dale Doughty, who said the connector proposal should remain in the department's toolbox as it studies all commuter congestion solutions in its upcoming review. "Everything should be on the table," Doughty said. Repealing the connector's authorization "presupposes the result of the study." Doughty also said the department opposes forcing the turnpike authority to sell property it has purchased for the connector, saying that the land is protected while the study is underway. Supporters of the bill acknowledged that the order to sell may warrant amending and that the land may be useful for other community and regional transit purposes, such as a recreational path. In the planning stages for more than 20 years, the spur would run from the recently rebuilt turnpike Exit 45 in South Portland, through Westbrook and Scarborough, to the Gorham Bypass at Route 114 in Gorham. The town councils in Scarborough and Westbrook have withdrawn their support for the project in recent months. SUPPORT IN QUESTION Gorham Town Manager Ephrem Paraschak stood to "strongly express" the town's opposition to the bill because growth and traffic congestion are major community issues. "All solutions and options (should) remain on the table," Paraschak told the committee. "We continue to be a willing partner with everyone." Kelly Flagg, executive director of the Associated General Contractors of Maine, also spoke against the bill, saying the connector has strong community support. However, a recent MTA poll found that 45% of respondents said they oppose (12%) or strongly oppose (33%) the connector, while 40% said they support (20%) or strongly support (20%) building the road. The authority announced in March that it had asked the department of transportation to lead a two-year study that will include reviewing how the pandemic changed some of the underlying reasons for the 5-mile, four-lane toll highway extension. The decision followed a year of community conflict over the connector proposal and growing negative feedback "from the public and civic leaders who have called for a broader, more holistic and multimodal approach to addressing the region's mobility challenges," the authority said in a statement. The study will be completed in 2026. Copy the Story Link
Chicago Tribune
01-04-2025
- Climate
- Chicago Tribune
Today in Chicago History: Dinosaur invasion!!! (Yes, it was an April Fool's Day joke)
Here's a look back at what happened in the Chicago area on April 1, according to the Tribune's archives. Is an important event missing from this date? Email us. Vintage Chicago Tribune: April fools Weather records (from the National Weather Service, Chicago) High temperature: 83 degrees (2010) Low temperature: 17 degrees (1881) Precipitation: 1.58 inches (1967) Snowfall: 8.2 inches (1970) 1906: In a 7,000-word story, the Tribune claimed 'dinosauria' took over the city. 1924: Al Capone's brother Frank was killed in a shootout with Chicago police who were hired by Cicero to quell election disturbances in the village. 1955: Col. Robert R. McCormick, editor and publisher of the Tribune, died. 1970: Evening rush-hour commuters — who thought winter was over — felt foolish after the city was socked with a record-breaking spring snowfall. More than 8 inches of snow fell — the most ever on April 1 in Chicago. Want more vintage Chicago?
Telegraph
18-03-2025
- Automotive
- Telegraph
Adam Hollioake: I lost my best mate, my brother and my money – nothing can hurt me now
Two days into his new job as Kent's head coach and Adam Hollioake is still adjusting to the bare necessities, such as working out how much fuel is left in his company car. 'This is the poshest car I've ever driven, much posher than the one I have in Oz,' he says of his Honda hybrid as, rather worryingly, the fuel gauge reads zero miles left and we're stuck in rush-hour traffic on the way to him dropping me off at Canterbury West station. 'You know what, I reckon the last time I was in Canterbury the tree was still there,' he says referring to the lime tree on the outfield that fell down in a storm in 2005. 'Maybe, I've been back once since then, dunno.' He did indeed play one T20 game at Canterbury in 2007 during a brief return to county cricket when he played eight games for Essex but, as he works through his jet lag and battles with the city's ring road, you can understand why memories are a little hazy. A chat with Hollioake never lingers that long on the cricket, even though he has one of the game's sharpest brains. Before staff putting chairs on tables closed up the Oriole cafe at Canterbury cricket ground and shooed us into the traffic, Hollioake was happy to 'go deep' with the conversation because his life has encompassed so much else apart from playing or coaching around the world: boxing, MMA cage fighting, a sports psychology PhD and working with bereavement charities. 'In the space of 15 years, or something like that, I lost my best mate [Surrey wicketkeeper Graham Kersey] in a car accident, I lost my brother in a car accident, and I lost all my money in a failed property development venture so then I was fighting in a cage to earn money. 'I was like: 'God, what else are you gonna give me? Just leave my children alone.' I can deal with anything else because I've had to deal with some big things early in life, so I don't see what can hurt me now, apart from, as I say, leave my kids alone.' He calls the succession of bereavements 'exposure therapy'. He coolly says he is 'not scared of dying myself'. He has come to terms with mortality because it has smacked him in the face. 'I've seen it, lost enough people myself to know it's going to come to all of us. I lost Graham Thorpe last year, lost eight of the team I played with over the years, guys like Joey Benjamin, Danny Kelleher from Kent, who was my flatmate, lost my brother, Tom Maynard, Graham Kersey, and Nick Peters, who was my best mate at Surrey.' Even though he speaks openly about his losses, it is only when asked. He believes there is a fine line between talking and letting it dominate too much. 'There's been poor advice telling men to talk about their problems. They don't give you a guide on how to do that. So I notice a lot of men go out there and talk to everyone who will listen about their problems all day, every day. And then what do you end up doing? And it's no fault of their own, they just end up ruminating and affirming their problems themselves. If you spend 50 per cent of your day talking about your problems, you're going to go around feeling sad. So I think you've got to control that. 'And that applies to many elements of life within a team. If the team sits around complaining about biased decisions or whatever then they get good at whatever they practise. If I practise being a negative d---, then if I do that, all right, I'll be good at being a negative d---. So you got to talk about and affirm what it is you want to be.' In 2003 I interviewed Hollioake's father, John, when Ben's loss was still very raw. He said that Ben would appear to him in visions. Adam is different. 'He reckons he still does and probably a week does not go by without us having an in-depth chat about it. I think, I've probably had only three or four dreams about him, which is odd, because I spend the vast majority of my time thinking about him more than anyone, other than living people. I just can't summon him up. I've spent my time making things happen in sport, but I'm a terrible medium.' It is an intriguing appointment, and you cannot help but think Kent players will benefit from someone who has been around the block, rather than graduating from player to coach through the England and Wales Cricket Board system. 'I'm a man. I face my mistakes and try to learn from them. That's all you can do. Any experience when you do well at something is good but you gain more out of things you f--- up and I've done plenty of that as well.' The cage fighting is over now – 'mate, I'm 53!' – but he looks like he could jump in the ring and his reputation for being one of the hardest men in the game might put a few on edge. 'The public perception of me is that I'm some sergeant-major type, an angry, dictatorial leader because of the fighting, but I'm pretty relaxed… until I'm not.' It took a while for Hollioake to find coaching. He moved to Perth when he retired from Surrey in 2004, then to Queensland. His property company collapsed owing £10 million to creditors, including Alec Stewart (they remain firm friends and talk weekly). He was declared bankrupt and had only his playing pension for income. He turned to boxing, earning about £600 per bout to pay the food bills for the family. He drew his first cage-fighting bout, and then gradually returned to cricket and business. He has since coached in Afghanistan and worked with England, Queensland and Pakistan before ending up at Kent. He was recently with Andrew Flintoff's Lions team in Australia. This is his first head coach role and he takes over a Kent side who finished bottom of Division One of the County Championship and bottom of their group in the Vitality Blast. He has a job on his hands. 'We won a lot when I was at Surrey but I don't get caught up in wins and losses. I just get caught up in attitude. I want our side to be the best at all the things that require no talent, so that's time-keeping, discipline, hard work, attitude, all those things. They require zero ability. They just take effort. They don't offer a championship for that, but we can award it to ourselves if we feel we deserve it. Then wins and losses will take care of themselves.' Hollioake has a house in Canterbury and his 18-year-old son is staying with him for the summer, so he feels at home already. Kent's campaign begins with an away championship match against Northamptonshire, pitting him against Darren Lehmann, proof the second division probably has bigger-name coaches this year than it does players. 'My kids are getting to an age now where they're more self-sufficient, and I wanted to try and do something for myself now. I've got a bit more time to sort of follow my dreams again.' Hence a Surrey man joining neighbours Kent, but then again as a kid with an Australian accent playing for England, crossing boundaries is nothing new. 'You know what? I hated all the counties when I played for Surrey and every side hated us, so wherever I ended up was always going to feel weird.' We made it to the station, and when I later checked if he had enough fuel to get home he replied: 'Still haven't got any yet. Will see how I go in the morning,' and added a laughing emoji. After everything that has happened, running out of petrol is nothing.
