As rush hour came to a close on the evening of May 25, 1950, one of Chicago's new fast, colorful, streamlined streetcars—known as a Green Hornet—slammed into a gas truck at State Street and 62nd ...Place. The Hornet's motorman allegedly failed to heed the warnings of a flagger attempting to route it around a flooded underpass, and the trolley, packed with commuters on their way home, barreled into eight thousand gallons of gasoline. The gas erupted into flames, poured onto State Street, and quickly engulfed the Hornet, shooting flames two hundred and fifty feet into the air. More than half of the passengers escaped the inferno through the rear window, but thirty-three others perished, trapped in front of the streetcar's back door, which failed to stay open in the ensuing panic. It was Chicago's worst traffic accident ever—and the worst two-vehicle traffic accident in US history. Unearthing a forgotten chapter in Chicago lore, The Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster tells the riveting tale of this calamity. Combing through newspaper accounts as well as the Chicago Transit Authority's official archives, Craig Cleve vividly brings to life this horrific catastrophe. Going beyond the historical record, he tracks down individuals who were present on that fateful day on State and 62nd: eyewitnesses, journalists, even survivors whose lives were forever changed by the accident. Weaving these sources together, Cleve reveals the remarkable combination of natural events, human error, and mechanical failure that led to the disaster, and this moving history recounts them—as well as the conflagration's human drama—in gripping detail.
Chapter FOUR Craig Allen Cleve
The Green Hornet Street Car Disaster,
06/2012
Book Chapter
Electricity and phone service on the east side of State Street was knocked out within the first few minutes after the collision. The first call for help may have come from Walter Skonicki’s kitchen ...just moments after the crash.
Before an official alarm went out, firefighters from a nearby station responded. Fireman Martin Mulhall was standing in front of his station at 6017 S. State, just two blocks from the scene. Mulhall heard the explosion and saw thick, black smoke billowing across State Street.
“Let’s go!” he hollered. “We’ve got a fire down the street!”¹
In a breach of department
Chapter SIX Craig Allen Cleve
The Green Hornet Street Car Disaster,
06/2012
Book Chapter
When the trolleys and “L” consolidated to form the CTA in 1947, the new Transit Authority was governed by a seven-member board. Four of the seven members, including the board chairman, were appointed ...by the mayor of Chicago, thus giving the mayor’s office considerable power over the company. Mayor Edward Kelly appointed four members in 1945, including the CTA’s first chairman, Philip Harrington.¹ When Harrington died while recuperating from surgery in February 1949, Mayor Martin J. Kennelly took his time appointing Harrington’s successor. It proved a judicious move on the part of Kennelly, as the best candidate for the job
Chapter TWO Craig Allen Cleve
The Green Hornet Street Car Disaster,
06/2012
Book Chapter
If it had not rained on May 25, 1950, the Green Hornet Streetcar Disaster never would have happened. Chicagds worst traffic accident was as much about a flooded viaduct as it was about two vehicles ...involved in a deadly collision. It was spring in Chicago, and the city was in the throes of a heat wave. Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of that week had all seen temperatures in excess of 80 degrees. On Thursday morning, the day of the accident, the temperature had topped out at 92 degrees.
Shortly after 2:00 p.m., a particularly ferocious storm cell swept through the
