Olga was the daughter of August and Elsie Meineck Willimite. Olga had four older sisters, Anna, Eva, Mary and Emma and she had three brothers, George, Otto and Oscar. George and Oscar predeceased her.
On February 9, 1911, 14-year-old Olga along with two other women boarded the streetcar on North 8th Street in downtown Sheboygan. Olga was on her way to spend the day with her older sister. Olga began what was to be the last six minutes of her life.
Along with several other passengers, the conductor and the motorman, she rode south on 8th Street. At a speed of about 20 miles per hour, the car headed down the long hill just before the bridge.
The passengers were unaware that the bridge tender was stretching the chain across the bridge prior to opening it for a tug boat. The conductor did see it and applied the car's brakes. But, they did not hold and the car continued on, skidding along the icy rails at the same time the bridge draw was opening. Throwing the gears into reverse and the cutoff of electricity from a tripped circuit breaker did not stop the streetcar. The conductor shouted a warning to the passengers and two men riding at the back of the car, jumped from the back platform. A third man threw himself from the car seconds before it plunged into the river. The conductor and motorman jumped as the streetcar was falling into the river. Olga and the other two women were apparently frozen with fear and were trapped in the streetcar.
The streetcar hit the stone abutments of the bridge and rolled over. It then righted itself and sank in about nine feet of icy water. Workmen from the tug boat chopped holes in the roof to rescue Olga and the other two women, but they were too late.
Charges of manslaughter were brought against the motorman, but he was eventually acquitted.
On February 9, 1911, 14-year-old Olga along with two other women boarded the streetcar on North 8th Street in downtown Sheboygan. Olga was on her way to spend the day with her older sister. Olga began what was to be the last six minutes of her life.
Along with several other passengers, the conductor and the motorman, she rode south on 8th Street. At a speed of about 20 miles per hour, the car headed down the long hill just before the bridge.
The passengers were unaware that the bridge tender was stretching the chain across the bridge prior to opening it for a tug boat. The conductor did see it and applied the car's brakes. But, they did not hold and the car continued on, skidding along the icy rails at the same time the bridge draw was opening. Throwing the gears into reverse and the cutoff of electricity from a tripped circuit breaker did not stop the streetcar. The conductor shouted a warning to the passengers and two men riding at the back of the car, jumped from the back platform. A third man threw himself from the car seconds before it plunged into the river. The conductor and motorman jumped as the streetcar was falling into the river. Olga and the other two women were apparently frozen with fear and were trapped in the streetcar.
The streetcar hit the stone abutments of the bridge and rolled over. It then righted itself and sank in about nine feet of icy water. Workmen from the tug boat chopped holes in the roof to rescue Olga and the other two women, but they were too late.
Charges of manslaughter were brought against the motorman, but he was eventually acquitted.
Olga was the daughter of August and Elsie Meineck Willimite. Olga had four older sisters, Anna, Eva, Mary and Emma and she had three brothers, George, Otto and Oscar. George and Oscar predeceased her.
On February 9, 1911, 14-year-old Olga along with two other women boarded the streetcar on North 8th Street in downtown Sheboygan. Olga was on her way to spend the day with her older sister. Olga began what was to be the last six minutes of her life.
Along with several other passengers, the conductor and the motorman, she rode south on 8th Street. At a speed of about 20 miles per hour, the car headed down the long hill just before the bridge.
The passengers were unaware that the bridge tender was stretching the chain across the bridge prior to opening it for a tug boat. The conductor did see it and applied the car's brakes. But, they did not hold and the car continued on, skidding along the icy rails at the same time the bridge draw was opening. Throwing the gears into reverse and the cutoff of electricity from a tripped circuit breaker did not stop the streetcar. The conductor shouted a warning to the passengers and two men riding at the back of the car, jumped from the back platform. A third man threw himself from the car seconds before it plunged into the river. The conductor and motorman jumped as the streetcar was falling into the river. Olga and the other two women were apparently frozen with fear and were trapped in the streetcar.
The streetcar hit the stone abutments of the bridge and rolled over. It then righted itself and sank in about nine feet of icy water. Workmen from the tug boat chopped holes in the roof to rescue Olga and the other two women, but they were too late.
Charges of manslaughter were brought against the motorman, but he was eventually acquitted.
On February 9, 1911, 14-year-old Olga along with two other women boarded the streetcar on North 8th Street in downtown Sheboygan. Olga was on her way to spend the day with her older sister. Olga began what was to be the last six minutes of her life.
Along with several other passengers, the conductor and the motorman, she rode south on 8th Street. At a speed of about 20 miles per hour, the car headed down the long hill just before the bridge.
The passengers were unaware that the bridge tender was stretching the chain across the bridge prior to opening it for a tug boat. The conductor did see it and applied the car's brakes. But, they did not hold and the car continued on, skidding along the icy rails at the same time the bridge draw was opening. Throwing the gears into reverse and the cutoff of electricity from a tripped circuit breaker did not stop the streetcar. The conductor shouted a warning to the passengers and two men riding at the back of the car, jumped from the back platform. A third man threw himself from the car seconds before it plunged into the river. The conductor and motorman jumped as the streetcar was falling into the river. Olga and the other two women were apparently frozen with fear and were trapped in the streetcar.
The streetcar hit the stone abutments of the bridge and rolled over. It then righted itself and sank in about nine feet of icy water. Workmen from the tug boat chopped holes in the roof to rescue Olga and the other two women, but they were too late.
Charges of manslaughter were brought against the motorman, but he was eventually acquitted.
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