-
Helen Palsgraf was waiting to buy a ticket to Rockaway, New Jersey
-
Another train stopped at the station, and two men raced to catch it as it began to pull away.
-
The first man reached the train without incident but the second, who was carrying what appeared to be a bundle of newspapers, stumbled as he boarded the train.
-
A conductor on the train reached out to pull the passenger on board, while a second railway employee pushed the passenger from behind.
-
During this awkward boarding the passenger dropped his parcel, which in fact contained fireworks. The package exploded upon hitting the rails
-
The force of the blast was so great that it destroyed part of the platform and caused some scales to fall. One of the scales hits Ms. Palsgraf
