Tragedy on the Columbia River Bridge
An unidentified man loses his life while attempting to hop a freight train near Kennewick.
An unknown man who was walking from Kennewick to Pasco last Saturday met death in the Columbia River as a result of an attempt to board a passing freight train on the bridge. The man caught at a passing car, missed his hold, and was hurled from the bridge. He is described as a man about 25 years of age and wore a blue shirt and blue overalls. His hat, which was picked up on the bridge, bears the initials, C. N. E.
“The man caught at a passing car, missed his hold and was hurled from the bridge.”
Freight train hopping was a common, deadly practice for itinerant workers in the early 20th century, reflecting the precarious lives of transient laborers in the developing West. Today, the legacy of these perilous river crossings remains a somber note in the history of the Columbia’s industrial expansion.
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