Pittsburgh Gazette Times -- August 27, 1911 LANE FAMILY HIT HARD BY DISASTER

Several Lose Lives and Others Are Hurt in Theater Panic at Canonsburg.

TWO CHILDREN ARE KILLED

Mother, Herself Badly Injured, Calls for Her Dead Babies; Husband’s Sorrowful Plight.

SPECIAL TELEGRAM FROM A. G. MERCER, Staff Correspondent.

CANONSBURG, PA., Aug.,27 – The Lane family of this place suffered the most in the theater panic of Saturday night. Carl and Margaret Lane, children of Mrs. Wilmer Lane of North Pitt street, were crushed or smothered to death and their aunt, Mrs. Callie Young, a sister of their mother, also was killed. The children’s cousins, Ethel and Margaret Lane of Morganza, Pa., were in the crush but escaped with several bruises, while the children’s grandfather, Samuel Lane of Morganza, was badly bruised.

The grandfather, who is past 65 years of age, made a pluck fight to save the life of a child and was almost killed in doing so. The two children, with Mr. and Mrs. Young, entered the theater together. Later Ethel and Margaret arrived and were followed a short time later by the grandfather. Each of the three parties was ignorant of the others’ presence.

When the rush began, Mr. and Mrs. Young, with the two children who were killed, were standing near the head of the stairs, and the other two Lane girls were in their seats, while the grandfather was near the door. The aged man was suddenly thrown toward the stairway leading to the street. As he was about to regain his feet some child, which had either been thrown or knocked from the arms of some mother, fell under him.

Child Falls from His Arms

Stooping, he caught the infant in his arms, but as he was raising up the impact of the crowd knocked him forward again with such force that the child fell from his arms. At the same moment he was thrown against the wall, halfway down the long flight of stairs, where he was pinioned and compelled to watch the child being slowly smothered to death by those who fell on top. Every one of the three parties suffered.

This afternoon at 3 o’clock Mrs. Wilmer Lane, who since being taken from the surging mass of humanity in the theater has been lying at death’s door

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