Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1889-10-04
A HORRIBLE COLLISION
SUBURBAN PASSENGERS TERRIBLY
MANGLED AND SCALDED.

rive Killed Outright and IL Dozen Injured,
Some Fatally-An Engineers Running
Ahead of Time the Cause of tho Fatality
Distressing Scenes.
lChcago telegram.l
Through the wanton careIessnes of En-
glneer Seth Twombley five lives were sac
rlflced in wreck on the Rock Island
railway, near Auburn Junction, sub
urban station of Chicago. The passen-
ger train had just passed the junction
station and was stopped by train cross
ing on an intersectng line, when Twom-
b!ey's freight came rushing up from be-
mud and sent its engine crashing into the
passenger. Before it struck the passen-
ser tram Twomhley and his fireman
jumped off and made their escape.
All of the killed save one were from
Washington Heights. The following ia
a list of those instantly killed:
Mrs. Ward, Washington Heights. Mrs Can.
1 na1i. Brown, Washington Heights; Miss sadie
nelly. Washington Heights Fred Hucbner'
was, Washington Heights; james w. McKinzie, Au.
The seriously wounded are:
Mrs. A. H. Steele, Washington Heights. sca1d.
ca about the breast and face and Internally in
lurea' probably fatal; Gus Mulcahey, Seventy
f sesn ana Wallace streets, scalded about the
lured about the abdomen Mrs. Clark, of Wash
1nngton Heights. daughter OF Mrs. Captain
al her Hbeay
ing an ana sister, Tracy avenue, scalded and
berg: Washington Heights, terribly scalded
a a. head and arms and internally injured.
fMnn injured are Edward Smith, Jr Daniel
Haggerty Mrs. Wheeler, and Dan OI,on nota -
Washington Heights.
The suburban passenger train which
was wrecked left the Rock Island depot
at Van Buren, street at $50 O'Clock, with
Conductor G. S. Ellis in charge and En-.
g,neer Parker at the throttle. At 6:l9
O'Clock the train had passed Auburn juno
ton station and had discharged nearly all
Its passengers. The passenger train was
made up of an engine and seven coaches.
just beyond Auburn Junction, at Eighty
seventh street, the rear car is mcoupled
to be sent on to Washington Heights.
while the forward cars continue on the
branch south to Morgan Park and
Blue Island. The train had
stopped to let an incoming train
from the Washington Heights branch
pass and to uncouple the rear car
when freight train No. 81 crashed into the
rear. The passengers in the forward cars
were badly frightened, but did not real
ize the extent of the accident for some
time. They heard the crash and felt a
slight shock, but did not take in the stu
alton until the smoke and kissing steam
attracted their attention. The greatest
confusion followed, and nearly every one
rushed from the train. The locomotive
had forced its way clear inside Of the rear
coach, and the kissing steam and the
shrieks of the wounded and imprisoned
passengers increased the horror.
There were between twenty five and
thirty people on board the fated car, and
that any of them escaped alive is mira
Gle. The passengers from the other cars
at once lent helping hand, and many
were saved who but for timely assistance
must have succumbed to the scalding
steam and choking smoke from the en-
CINE.
the frelgRt Vas hssff ten minutes ahead Of
time, and presumably to this is the sad
accident alone due. The track is straight
one at this point, and Engineer Twom-
bley must have seen the passenger ahead
some time le<S".o- no OF. '-e1- i<.- Gay .
that he reversed his engine INN ediately
and whistled down brakes, but the veloc-
ity of the train proved too great to be
halted in time to avoid the smash-up.
According to some of the spectators the
freight was running at the rate of twenty
miles al hour. 1t was heavily loaded
train, and from the fact that the engine
crashed almost it's whole length into the
car without seriously injuring the sides,
it must have been running at q high rate
of speed.
The bodies of the dead were in horri-
BILE condition, and in some instances were
literally cooked. Miss Kelly was SO
badly scalded that it was almost impossi-
bic to distinguish her features at all.