In Septmeber 1917, as a dense fog rolled through Syracuse, two trolley cars collided on Hawley Avenue near Howard Street. “Fourteen people were hurt and 20 others were shaken up,” according to The Syracuse Herald’s evening edition from later that day. The cars were nearly filled to capacity and, as the motormen saw the crash coming and nearly “they both shut off their power and applied the breaks.” The report went on to say that “The front platforms of both cars were demolished.”
When asked about the fog, Forecaster Morgan R. Sanford said it was unusual for Syracuse. Sanford also mentioned that the fog was even more dense near Syracuse University where he could not see the ground from atop the Hall of Languages.