Fatal Fall from the N. P. Bridge
A traveling salesman loses his life after catching his foot on a protruding bolt while crossing the bridge between Pasco and Kennewick.
J. L. Derway, a salesman originally from Burlington, Vermont, died Tuesday evening after falling from the Northern Pacific railroad bridge between Pasco and Kennewick. While walking the 6x6 timber bolted to the ties, Derway caught his toe on a projecting bolt and plunged to the rocks below. Death was instantaneous. Derway had been staying at the Denver Rooming House in Kennewick while selling mechanical appliances. His body was recovered and a coroner's inquest was held in Pasco.
“A misstep cost J. L. Derway his life about six o'clock Tuesday evening while walking the N. P. railroad bridge.”
Railroad bridges were frequent sites of fatal accidents in the early 20th century, serving as de facto pedestrian walkways in regions where other crossings were non-existent or inconvenient. Today's pedestrian bridge infrastructure is a direct historical response to these common, preventable industrial deaths.
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