On This Date in Minnesota History: October 11

October 11, 1905 – “He’s dead all right,” said a trainman in the Minneapolis & St. Louis railroad yards today at noon after three freight cars had passed over the prostrate body of Louis Larbetski, a section hand.

So instead of stopping the train, four more loaded cars were backed over the mangled form.

The sickening accident occurred directly under the Bryn Mawr bridge, in full view of several workmen and friends of the man who was killed. A car was being transferred from the Great Northern road to the Minneapolis & St. Louis, and Larbestski, busy at his work, did not notice the approaching train. The cars backed down on him and as he fell beneath the wheels he called piteously to his friends for help.

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 Other section men called frantically for the trainmen to stop, but not until the third car had passed over the man was the order obeyed.

Then the train slowed down for a moment, while some of the men looked under the cars and saw the crushed body.

Seeing no signs of life, another signal was given and the remaining four cars were pushed back over the body and the switching went on as usual. The other section men guarded the tracks and deputy Coroner Irvine was summoned. He made a thorough inquiry into the manner of the man’s death, but has not yet decided whether to hold an inquest.

The body has been taken to the county morgue, and the relatives of the man notified. Recently he had troubles with his wife and for several weeks had been living in a boarding house on Washington Ave. N.

The Minneapolis Journal; “Backed Four Cars Over the Corpse. Fatal Accident Not Allowed to Delay Traffic at Bryn Mawr.”; Oct. 11, 1905; p. 1.

There are still many bridges over railroad tracks in the Bryn Mawr
neighborhood of Minneapolis.**

*https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c3/Minneapolis_%26_St._Louis_Peoria_Gateway_logo.jpg

**Photo taken by Pamela J. Erickson. Released into the public domain Oct. 11, 2017, as long as acknowledgement included.

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