Los Angeles daily herald., 1889-01-09
A COLLISION,
Al Martin Killed by an Engine Near
Aurant.

Al Martin Killed by an Engine Near
Aurant.
Yesterday afternoon at a little before
5 O'Clock, as the Cotton local freight was
running between Shorb's Station and
Aurant, about five miles from the city, it
collided with handcar, and section
hand named AL Martin was killed. Mar
tin was man about fifty years of age,
married and living in Los Angeles, and
he had been in The employ of the South
ern Pacific Company about year.
A gang of nine or ten men, of whom
Martin was one, had been at work on
that section of the road during the day
and had picked up their tools and loaded
them on the handcsr to return to the
city. Before starting the foreman dis
patched Martin and another man up the
track to see if any train was in sight, and
they brought word that the coast was
clear. The car was just set in motion
when the freight train came through the
cut around very sharp curve. A mo-
mentary effort was made to pull the car
from the track, but it being almost in
stantly evident that this could not
be done the men sprang off, leav-
ing the car to its fate. Martin
instead of jumping back from the car,
ran around in front of it and was caught
by the engine and was thrown violently
eff the track. He was picked up uncon-
scious and carried into the caboose of the
train, which had by this time stopped
near the scene of the accident. Before
Los Angeles was reached the unfortunate
man was dead. No one could be blamed
for the accident unless it should be
Martin himself, as it was his business to
see that the road was clear before the
start was made.
At the inquest, which was held in the
evening, the engineer of the train, w. H.
Fair, testified as follows: cat ten min
utes Of 5, as We were rounding curve a
mile and half from Shorb's Station, the
fireman gave the alarm that something
was on the track. reversed the engine
and applied the air brakes, and did my
best to stop the train. l saw the hand
car about ten feet in front Of the engine
and then we struck. By the
time We had stopped the caboose
was up with where the disabled
hs nd-car lay. Section hands who are
working on the track or travelling about
with hand-car are supposed to be al
ways under flag; that is to say they
must have flag out in each direction. :"
Henry Miller, the foreman, told the
same story substantially as the engineer.
When he saw the hand-car there were
several men on it and several on the
ground. The whistle had been blown
orce as they made the crossing and once
for the cut.
The foreman of the section gang, A. H.
Weir, testified that when they had put
the car on the track he had sent the de-
ceased and another man back to see if
any train was in sight. They returned
presently saying that there was nothing
nearer than Alhambra, which is two and
half miles away. Scarcely had they
started, however, when one of the men
cried out, Here she comes" They
tried to pull the car from the track, but
when it was evident that there was no
time for that the witness cried out,
"Run, boys" and they all jumped.
After the collision they found the de-
ceased lying on his face unconscious.
Two of the other section hands who
were present at the affair gave their testi-
mony, which merely served to corrob.
crate that already received.
The jury brought in verdict that Al
Martin had died of injuries received by a
collision between hand.car and a
freight train on the Southern Pacific
Railroad between Shorbs Station and
Aurant.