... pushed off the boat by the crowd ...
Rose, Johanna, and Elizabeth Kotovsky all worked at Western Electric's Hawthorne Works. They boarded the Eastland on their way to the 5th annual employee picnic. Of these three young Kotovsky sisters, only the oldest - Elizabeth - survived.
The Chicago Evening American newspaper reported that they "were pushed off the boat by the crowd. Elizabeth was grabbed by a man and pulled to shore. The man left without giving his name, jumping back into the water to assist others."
Five generations later, the legacies of Rose and Johanna live on through their family today. Twin girls in the family - Elinor Rose and Juliet Johanna - are middle named in memory of their 3rd-great-aunts.
[Rose, Johanna, and Elizabeth, l. to r., standing in the back in photo]