Modern PR tactics were born of tragic Jersey Shore train crash

This is the story of a local train crash, and how its aftermath changed the way companies communicate with the public.

On Oct. 28, 1906, a three-car train was about to finish its journey from Camden to Atlantic City when it approached a drawbridge spanning a small waterway.

As its wheels hit the bridge, something went terribly wrong.

The first two cars of the train careened into the water. Victims were, in the words of the Atlantic City Press, “entombed in cars” with no method of escape, and 53 of the 87 passengers died.