A Fatal Mistake in the Bernice Building
A man looking for an office on the sixth floor instead steps into a fatal accident on the fifth.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
A fatal accident occurred in the Bernice building on Pacific avenue about noon today. Carl Bohnke, aged 36, of Enumclaw, was crushed between the elevator and the ceiling of the fifth floor, his skull being fractured and other internal injuries sustained. Bohnke intended to visit an office on the sixth floor, but by mistake got off at the fifth floor. He found out his error just as Janitor John Nelson was closing the door of the elevator, and attempted to spring back into the cage. Nelson had started the elevator up before getting the door closed and Bohnke's body became jammed in the opening. The man was carried upwards and before the janitor could stop the machinery the unfortunate man struck the ceiling. As quickly as possible he was released and Dr. Trumble summoned. The regular elevator boy was away at lunch and the janitor was acting as a substitute in the elevator.
“The regular elevator boy was away at lunch and the janitor was acting as a substitute in the elevator.”
Building codes and elevator safety standards have drastically evolved since 1904, when 'janitor-operated' elevators were common sources of horrific industrial accidents. This incident serves as a grim reminder of how unregulated, improvised workplace labor once put everyday visitors and workers at grave risk in the city's early high-rises.
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