[5] On November 1, 1893, in foggy weather after dawn, the sternwheeler Elwood approached the bridge, and gave the signal to open the draw, one long and three short blasts on the steam whistle.

[6] The bridge tender closed the wooden gates on each side of the draw and hung a red signal light as a warning.

[8] At about 6:45 a.m. on November 1, 1893, the streetcar Inez, owned by the East Side Railway, arrived at the Madison Street Bridge, running westbound into the city with 18 to 20 passengers on board, as well as the motorman and the conductor.

[10] Policeman J. J. Flynn, whose post was on the east side of the bridge, stated that he had seen the streetcar pass and had thought it was running somewhat fast, but he paid not too much attention to it.

"[9] Captain Lee, on Elwood, said to a reporter on November 1 that he could see the light on the car, and from the sound, he thought it was moving fast across the bridge, and the motorman might not realize that the draw was open.

[10] An 18-year-old man, Joe Kutcher, saw the streetcar move onto the bridge and thought nothing of it, until he heard someone behind him shout "Stop that car!

"[9] A messenger boy for a local brewery, W. B. Crabtree, also walking across the bridge, heard someone shout: "Stop the car!

[10] The motorman, Edward F. Terry, gave a sworn statement before Portland Mayor William S. Mason (1832–1899) and chief of police Hunt.

Instead of plowing through and running down the passengers, the Elwood stopped before reaching the draw tying up at the pivot pier, and rendered every possible assistance to the unfortunates.

[9] Hoover's account of Elwood's actions was disputed by the boat's captain, James Lee, and the mate and the fireman.

[9] They stated that the steamer stopped before reaching the draw, tied up at the pivot pier, and did everything possible to help the people in the water, throwing over life-preservers, planks and staging.

[9] Using the boat, they rescued the only man who survived the car's plunge into the river, who was found floating on the Elwood's gangplank.

[9] The Morning Oregonian reported that right after Elwood passed through the draw, the steamer had lowered a boat to attempt to save two men who were still struggling to stay afloat in the water.

[11] Thousands of people gathered on the bridge and the docks in the area, and exaggerated rumors of the scale of the accident spread through the city.

[8] An hour after the accident, drag lines were being used to find bodies, and at 9:30 the first one was recovered, and immediately identified as that of John P. Anderson, a cabinet maker from Milwaukie.

[8] By 11:00 a.m. the bodies of Alexander Campbell, a saloon keeper from Midway and Jasper Stadler, a laborer from Oak Grove, were recovered.

[8] Tilden found the streetcar on the bottom of the river, in water about 35 feet (11 m) deep, tipped slightly to one side and lying nearly parallel to the bridge.

[8] When the car broke the surface, people in rowboats, who had come out to watch, slipped under the ropes placed around the area, impeding the operation.

The two missing persons, whose bodies were not found, were Paul Oder, bottling department foreman at the Gambrinus brewery, and a boy, Charles S. Albee, aged 14, who worked as a paper hanger.

[14] W. A. Burkholder, assistant superintendent of the Portland General Electric Light Company, testified that on the morning of the accident, that the ice on the rails "acted like grease" and that sand would have slowed the car.

[13][15] The jury found that the motorman was grossly negligent, by running the car at excessive speed across the bridge when the rails were slippery from ice and the weather was foggy.

[15] The jury commended Captain Lee and the crew of the Elwood for their work in attempting to rescue the people in the water.

[16] On Friday, February 2, 1894, Judge Manley sustained Terry's demurrer to the indictment filed against him, and ordered the case resubmitted to the grand jury.