SAW COLLISION; EMPRESS WAS SOUNDING HER SIREN
A steerage passenger, John Fowler, was one of the few who actually saw the collision between the Empress and the Storstad. Fowler was from Vancouver, and immediately on arriving at Quebec rushed off to catch another train.
“I actually saw the Storstad approaching the Empress,” Fowler affirmed.
“Was there any fog at the time?” he was asked.
“Yes,” he replied, “there was fog, but it was not very thick.”
“Did you notice whether the Empress had her siren going?”
“Yes, she had,” was the reply, “I noticed it just before the collision.”
“The shock,” Mr. Fowler continued, “did not seem to be at all severe. I just felt it and had no idea the result had been so serious.
“The water came into our port-hole, and reached above my shoulders before I could shut it. By that time the ship was heeling over so badly that it was difficult to get out. I heard the siren blowing a great deal, and got up to look out to see whether we were passing another vessel or were whistling for a pilot. I had just got my head out through the hole when the collier drove right into us just beyond me. And then we gradually went over to one side.