The Tragic End of a Seattle Roadwork Accident
A laborer was severely injured when a massive boulder crushed him during excavations at Van Duzen’s Addition.
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.
John Solomon, while excavating an area for a large building in Van Duzen’s Addition this morning, was in a stooping position when a rock rolled on him. His cries brought several men to his assistance, who extricated and carried him home. His injuries were quite serious, if not fatal; he must have been hurt internally.
“His cries brought several men to his assistance, who extricated and carried him home.”
Early Seattle was a landscape of constant, dangerous transformation as the city carved itself out of the rugged terrain. Today, while we no longer see the same types of excavation accidents in the same neighborhoods, the tension between aggressive development and the safety of the working class remains a central theme in urban growth.
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