, 1889-09-26
THE FATAL LEAP.
A Freight on the Northern Pacific
Dashes Into Passenger
Train at Trent.
Louis Hagan is Killed aud Two
Others are Injured
Inquest.


freight at Trent, nine miles cast of here,
on the Northern Pacific, about 1880
o'clock yesterday morning, which re.
suited in the death of the head brake.
man, Louis Hagan, and the injury of
Engineer Hannigan of tho freight, and
fellow named Brennan, who was riding
on the forward platform of the baggage
car. next the engine.
the passenger train was waiting on
the main line at Trent station for the
first section OF freight train No, 10, from
the East, TO pull inand side-track. The
freight train conductor had orders to
meet the passenger at Trent. There is
quite down grade coming into Trent
and Engineer A. Hannigan was relying
upon the airbrakes to stop the train in
time to open the switch, but when he
attempted to stop his train they refused
to act, and all he could do was to reverse
his engine in an endeavor to avert the in
evitabIc danger.
Louis Hagan, the head brakeman
who was riding on the engine at the
time, seeing the danger
LEAPED PROM THE ENGINE
and was followed Immediately by the
engineer and fireman.
When the engineer of the passenger
train saw that the freight was not going
to make the switch he tried 10 avoid the
collision by backing his train, but IL was
too late, as he had only got up speed
| of four miles an hour when the two en-
gines came together with a crash.
Conductor Collins of the freight dis
covered Hagan lying by the side of the
tracks, several car lengths from the en-
| gine,. and he was not yet dead, but be-
fore he could 90 to the caboosc and get
q cushion and return, the brakeman Was
dead. 1t was also discovered that I'm
gineer Hannigan and Ed Brennan, u
lalorer, had received slight injuries.
| The second section of No 13 soon ar
rived and brought the injured men and
the dead body to this city. The remains
of Hagap were removed to Dicksler x
| Websters undertaking room and placed
| in the morgue. The engineer was taken
| to the hospital, while Brennan went TO
the Eureka lodging-house on First
street.
THE ENGiNEER's STORY.
A REVIEW reporter saw the injured en- :
gineer at the hospital, who made the
! following statement with reference to
the accident:
| "We had orders to meet the passenger
at Trent and | intended TO stop my
train and pull it on the switch, but when
| started TO put on the airbrake, ! dis
covered that it was out of order, so | re-
versed the engine and jumped TO the
ground it was down grade
coming into Trent, and ii !
/ had known the air pump was ouI
of order could have reduced speed on
the HILL but we couldn't have been run.
ming very fast or the engines would have
been smashed up worse than they are.
| When | saw q collision was bound tc
occur left the cab and Jumped. Ilagan
was riding in the cab and he jumped out
just ahead of me. | have been running
an engine on the Northern Pacific foi
eleven months.h
HANEI0AN RECEIVED SLIGHT cur
on the forehead and complained of pain
in his side. 1t was at first feared thal
be rlII hsd re lraepss9jysds sia
7 c0ffdftfOil WIS not Isg;uutd -crftr-, s.ss
the afternoon.
Ed Brennan was next secn
and he said he was riding on the front
platform ofthe coach next to The engine
and was somewhat under the innuenC,
of liquor and lie hardly knew what
happened, His right eye /,
cut badly, and he also com
plains Of inward pains. His condition
however, is not regarded at all danger
ous. lie came here last spring nom
Butte City, and has been working on the
Rockford branch during the summer.
AT the morgue it was discovered that
an uns lightly cash had been inflicted in
the right side OF Hagan's face, commence
ing near the center of the ear ard eN
tending into the check, exposing the
end of the iawbone. There were nu
merous bruises about his body and
| limbs.
OIL and one of the trucks of the freight
engine was broken, but the entire dam.
age will not exceed $500 None of the
passengers were hurt. The other train.
men all escaped injury.
THE coRoNER's INQUEST.
Coroner Mclean held an inquest at
p. NJ. in Bicksler Il Webster s undertak.
ing rooms. The following jury wa.
called: George Leghorn, foreman; Peter
j. Waters, III. +. Reeves, G. Il. Boberts
Il. Amell and Ira A. Bowen
J. W. Collins, conductor of the freight
train, was the first witness, and he testi
fled substantially as follows:
"We were coming into Trent about
ten miles an hour and had orders tc
Trest at / ;Is A, N. The grade is down
hill most of the way, and the
airbrakes being out of order we
ran into the passenger; don't
know whether engineer whistled
down brakes or not; the collision oc
CURED at :23 O'clock don't know how
Hagan was killed; | saw him about six
or eight minutes after the accident and
he was still living and went to the ca.
boose to get cushion and when | came
back. he breathed his last. 1t appeared
like he had
ROLLED AGAINST THE TRUCKS
after he struck the ground. / think il
he had staid on the engine he would moi
have been killed, or ii il had been day
light he could have jumped off safely
L. j. Farrell the rear brakeman, was
the other witness and in addition 10 the
conductors evidence he said the engi.
neer was u steady man, and that he
never saw him drink any. He stated
that that was hard place to stop, and
that the air-brakes on that train wert
poor, and he was satisfied that Hagar
would be living II he had not jumped.
THE VERDICT
The Jury returned a verdict to the ef
feet that Louis Hagan came TO his death
by jumping from the engine and the
jury were of the opinion that the col
lision could have been avoided by having
the, train supplied with bettel
the Northern Pacific place switchmar
at Trent to adjust the switches for NJ
trains passing that point, and that one
be placed there without delay.
Hagan was about 10 years old and ha.
folks living at Ellensburg, and having
been notified of the death, IL Is expected