The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1872-02-03
PENNSYLVANIA.
Accident on the I.ehigh Valley Rail-
rOad-The Killed and Wounded.

WILKEsBARRE February 2.-The i'm
mediate cause of the disaster on the
Lehigh Valley railroad yesterday morn
ing was broken rail, over which the
engine, mail, baggage and first passen-
ger cars passed in safety, while the two
rear cars were precipitated down bank
on to the frozen river, killing seven
persons and injuring twelve. The dead
aud wounded were speedily carried
away, trains having been sent from
Mauch Chunk and White Haven, to
which places the wounded were con-
veyed. The bank is clear plunge OF
fifty feet, and the debris OF the cars was
strewn all over the ice on the river.
The killed were all in the second car.
Many in the last car were badly hurt,
some having been thrown fifty feet over
the ice at the time oftbe plunge. Miss
Rosa Troxwell was taken to White
Haven hotel where she now lies in a
critical condition.
The theory is that the rail was broken
by the locomotive and thrown out OF
place by the two first cars enough to
force the two following passenger cars
to jump the track and break the link
connecting them. They were then
forced to plow some distance along the
track, through a huge pile OF rock at
the side, and finally to roll and tumble
down the bank a distance Of fifty
feet to the river. Here they stopped
with a crash, but it was such that the
roof Of one car was thrown completely
off and carried rod or so further on,
while the other car was broken in the
middle and caught fire from the stove.
The cars had an average number Of
passengers in them, and the scene that
ensued was one OF most intense agony
and terror. Men and women were
hurled and thrown from their seats and
lay crushed and manned in a mass, and
most energetic e1e-tions were demanded
for the rescue of many from the burn
ing car. These cxertions were happily
successful, so far that few, II any, were
burned or ever scorchei.
Mrs. Proctorius, wife of l.. Procto-
rius, of this city, was so seriously
injured that she died in two hours. She
was on her way to meet her husband,
expecting with him to attend wedding
party.
The following is list Of the killed /:
Mrs. ProctOrous, Of Wilkesbarre, Pa.
Mr.. A. Smith, of the firm OF Gordon q
Smith, Wilkerbarre, Pa; Mrs. L.
Miller and Mrs. Till and daughter, Of
Reading, Pa. Thomas Baxter OF 39S
Arch street, Philadelphia; Sheriff
Whitaker. of White Haven, left hip
and right arm badly bruised, and several
cuts about the head and face; Judge
Dana, of Wilkesbarre, head and face
badly cut; Miss Kate Spayd, sister
Of DR.. Spayd, of Wilkesbarre, Pa, face
badly cut and legs injured; Mr.. Wolf
of White Haven, throat cut by a bolt
passing through it-cannot recover
Geo. w. Braden, of White Haven, head
badly cut and arm broken; Jas. Nor
rison, OF White Haven, left shoulder
dislocated and injured internally, Abner
Kelsey, of Hickory Run, slightly hurt;
II. II. Gillver, lumber dealer, OF Leslie
Rup, fatally hurt by being thrown a
distance OF one one hundred feet; Con-
ductor Siegrrici, of Easton, Pa, face
badly cut and flesh Of one arm badly
torn. Several others were badly hurt.
Mrs. Til when found was lying on
the ice in diving condition. a large
iron bolt had passed entirely through
her boly. An attempt was made to
remove it but the unfortunate woman
suffered such excrutiating pain that
they desisted, and it was not removed
until after she had died.
Mr.. Paxton, OF Philadelphia, was one
OF the number killed. His head was so
badly smashed that in attempting to
remove his hat the front part Of his
head came off with. it, presenting a most
ghastly sight.
An elderly man named Sampson, an
old resident of Brooklyn, was taking
a drink Of water at the time the accident
occurred and was violently pitched
against the water tank. He grasped
one of the rods on the side OF the car
and maintained a firm hold OF it till
the car struck the ice in tn river, when
he was thrown under one Of the seats
in which place he was found in an un-
conscious state. Restoratives were ap-
piled and he soon regained consciousness,
but the shock was so great that 1t is
feared that he will not recover. He
was sent to Easton by the evening train
and his friends notified by telegraph.