The daily state chronicle. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 188?-1891, 1890-09-23
AN AWFUL DISASTER,
A SCENE OF HORROR ON THE
PHILADELPHIA & READING
ROAD.

---Groans OF Wounded and Dying
People---All Add Horror to Scene
OF Death and Desolation.
TBy United Press
READING, Pa, Sept. %. The terrible
accident Friday night on the Reading
railroad grows in fatality as the wreck
is cleared away. Twenty dead bodies
have been removed from the wreck, and
others are known to be in it. The iniur-
ed foot up nearly seventy, some of whom
may die.
A passenger, John Ney, of Philadel-
phia, crawled out of the awful wreck
uninjured, and this afternoon he gave
the following account of what he saw:
Kissing steam from the engine, groans
Of the injured, and shrieks of the
.Panic.stricken Passengers
made up an awful sight Those of the
passengers who escaped unhurt gazed in
horror upon the scene. They saw four
of the cars splintersd into thousands of
pieces. 1t is safe to say that the cars
could not have been more completely
smashed to pieces. The engines smoke
stack was just out of water, and tops of
the Pullman and smoker were lust visi-
BILE. The
Terrific Crash of the Wreck
summoned hundreds of the residents of
that section, who hurried to the scene as
the shades Of night were quickly gath
ering upon that never-to- be forgotten
scene Of death and desolation.
Then the work of rescue.
Train hands and some of the passen-
gers in getting out of the cars jumped
into the water and swan to the shore.
It was
Desperate Struggle for Life.
Train men then lit their lamps and
soon the CHASTITY scene was illumlned by
these pale lights which rendered slight
assistance to noble hearts and willing
hands. One by one the slightly injured
that stood end up on the bank. Many
limped to the track above, which was
fanked on the one side by the standing
coal train Others were carried up.
Then the rescuing party made their way
further down to the wrecked and sub
merged cars and the sights they saw
We're horllfying in the extreme.
Injured passengers were
Piled One on Top of the Other
amid the splintered planks, iron work
glass, car wheels. gas cylinders, lamps
packages, bundles of clothing, baskets
hats and great variety of other mate
F: rials smashed to pieces.
The body Of George Karecher, the
! Philadelphia and Reading company
solicitor was taken out at 6:20 a. m. II.
$ was drowned in five feet of water in th;
7 Pullman car Harry Logan, aged 35
conductor of the express train, was foun(
q under the Pullman car in the water. His
! had anticipated danger. He leaves
g widow and one child in Pottsville
y Joseph Becker, chief burgess of Ma
d hony City was found under the smoke
{ crushed to death.
:. The body of John Osborne, aged thr
S ty, of Philadelphia, who was on his wa
q to Pottsvile to visit his wife, was mex
] found, drowned in the Pullman Cal
a The body of Frank Hassman, of Mahon
} City, taken out at midnight, presente
/ sickening sight, his chest and fac
n crushed in.
n Harry Greenwald, the mail agen
1t leaves widow and two small childre
e in Pottsville.
q The bodies of Mr.. and Mrs. J. E. FREQ
y ericks, of Pottsville, were found side b
,e side. They were drowned in the Pul
man car
Joseph Bausman, of Philadelphia,
fireman on the Philadelphia and Reat
ing road, was found dead under tt
smoker
r N. G. Vanderslice, Of Ph@nixvill
!, found dead under the smoker; JOB
~ Shindle, of Philadelphia, engineer on ii
IL, Philadelphia & Reading road found des
e. under the smoke; Michael Summers,
H. Mahony Cito, member of the Human
:, Fire company, was found iu the waite
e. The engineer and fireman are sill und
O. the engine.
he All those more seriously injured we
r taken to the Reading hospital, and OF
n ers were transferred to their home
Seventeen of the dead were brought
Reading at noon, prepared for buri
and then sent to their destination.