Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-10-01
A HORRIBLE BLUNDER
Adds One More to the Long List of
Ohio Railroad Disasters.
THREE MEN KILLED, 25 INJURED.
Heroic Work Prevents the Cruel Car Stove
Adding Its Terrors.
THE CORONER BEGINS HIS INQUIRY
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE p1sPArcH.l

| thousands of dollars worth of property,
sum III, the enormous cost of this terrible
blunder Ten coaches of excursionists,
most of them speeding on a long anticipated
| visit with kindred in the East, were bowl
ing along at the rate OF 80 miles an hour on
the New York, Lake Erie and Western
Railroad. They had passed this city, a
division terminus on the ID, at 2:05 this
morning. and were going through Break
neck yard, one mile further east, on a long
! fill 80 feet above the level. In the middle
of the fill is bridge 60 feet long, under
which crosses the Pittsburg and Western
Railroad.
Through the deep fog there suddenly
flashed headlight before Engineer Nichols
eve. There was no time to do anything
but reverse and jump, and Nichols did
both. In another moment there was a
crash, and the two great engines spent their
| strength in rending each other to pieces.
Eight freight cars, baggage car and two
passenger coaches hurled themselves on top,
and vet another was added to the Erie's
long list of horrors. Owing to the sudden
ness of the crash nearly everyone on the
two trains was either killed or injured, and
it is feared several of the injured will die.
THE DEAD AND WOUNDED.
The following is a complete and correct
list of the unfortunates:
WILLIAM MAXWELL, of Meadville, Divi-
sion Travelling Engineer.
CLAYTON GLASS, of Meadville, flrema of
the freight train.
MRS. WILLOUGHBY DEWEY, of Richland,
Mich.
INJURED.
Mrs. L. n VANvAUcKEN, of Mcdonald, Mich,
right arm broken, serious bruises.
Miss LAURA VANvAUCKEN, of Mcdonald,
Mich right leg and left foot lacerated.
Miss NELLIE STANFORD Galesburg, Mich,
back and right thigh seriously injured
scalp wound, shoulders and breast crushed,
probably fatal.
Mrs G. c. THOMPSON, of Montague, Mich,
severe and possibly fatal injgry to spine;
Mrs THOMAS RICHAR, of Musllegon, Mich,
back and hips seriously injured.
Miss MARY RIcHAR, of Muskegon, Mich, both
legs injured.
J. d. HART of Rockford, Ill, right ankle
lacerated, thighs, shoulders and breast in
jured.
Mrs. ALICE NJ SEDGwIcK, of Parma, Mich,
right leg broken, left hip dislocated, severe
bruises on lower limbs.
Mrs. ALICE FRIEND, of Kalamazoo, Mich,
back injured.
Miss EDITH soMERs, of Grand Rapids, Mich.
left leg broken, shoulders and back
bruised.
MRs. C. WEsrcorE of Bangor Mich, severe
bruises over body.
Miss REBECCA CLARK, of Bangor, Mich, back
Miss CAROLINE REED, OF Richland, Mich,
right leg broken.
Miss LUcILLA BUELL., of Shelby, Mich,
bruised hips and back.
EDWARD NJ. MOODY of Shelby, Mich, left leg
broken. back injured
FRANK NJ. CALDWELL, Division Passenger
Agent of the Erie Railway, Kalamazoo,
Mich, severe scalp wound, cut over left
eye and left foot lacerated.
MRS. a. NJ JOHNSTON, of Muskegon, Mich,
both legs broken, other probably fatal in
juries.
Mrs REV G. a. BUELL., of Shelby, Mich.
lacerated hip and left side, compound
fracture left leg.
CHARLES Z. McKIssTREY, of Kalamazoo,
Mich injured internally, probably fatally.
H. L. fleming, left side lacerated.
S. d. ALLEN, slight bruises.
J. W. WILSON, bruised and cut about body.
FIREMAN STEPHENS, of Meadville on passen-
ger engine, badly bruised.
DIR. Brock, of Muskegon Mich, badly bruised
and lacerated.
THE CONDUCTORS MISTAKE.
Ravenna, eight miles beyond Kent, until
the excursion section of train No. had
passed by. The reunion of the famous Olin
family at Bennington, VT, was the occasion
of the excursion, and several hundred peO-
pie in the Western States took occasion of
the low rates to go East, the fated sixth sec
tion being occupied chiefly by Michigan
passengers.
After the fifth section had passed
Ravenna the regular vestibule train, No. g.
also east bound, went through. Conductor
E. Beigert, of the freight train, which
should have stood at Ravenna, claims there
was no light on the fifth section of the ex-
cursion train to show there was one follow
ing. Whether this be true or whether he
confused train No. with the sixth section,
cannot be known until the inquest.
AT all events, he pulled out of Ravenna
and got within a mile of Kent siding when
the dreadful crash came. Fireman CLAYTON
Glass, of the freight train, was instantly
killed. Travelling Engineer William Max
well, who had been riding on the passenger
engine, meeting the same fate He was
climbing over the tender to go into the bag
gage car when the trains met, and he was
iammed a mass of flesh and bones between
the cars.
THE CRUEL CAR STOVE.
Back in the smoker and in the first ladies'
coach there was scr am of agony and ter
rof. The first ladies' coach was the only
one with fire in it, and women and children,
chilled by their long ride, had filled every
seat Many were asleep, and when the
trains met the baggage car sunk itself half
way into the coach, al avalanche of glass,
seats, timbers and wreck flying through the
air, and then burying the frenzied occu-
pants.
Then the stove, which had served to COM
fort the passengers turned ON to consume
them, the blaze in few minutes reaching
the roof of the coach. Mrs. Alice Sedg-
wick, of Parma, Mich, was pinned close to
the stove and then thrust herself against
the blistering iron until she roasted, trying
to shield her little child, the babe being
pinned close to her side with heavy tim
Der over her legs.
''Bring water" the agonized mother
cried, and in two minutes, which seemed |
two hours, some men who were tearing at |
the wreck passed along the water tank.
Then began fight by means Of the few |
cups of precious water with the fire, which |
was slowly climbing to the roof and spread |
ing to each side. Cupful after cupful was
drawn and poured with steady hand on
every tongue of flame, while the brave |
mother rolled over upon the fire beside her,
crushing out its spiteful life with her own
smoking flesh. They did their work well
and merciful darkness settled again over the
scene.
A SURVIVORS, STORY.
Mrs. 1. c. Richard, of Muskegon, Mich,
VINO was sitting with her two children in a |
double seat, describes the scene after the
crash: "When I saw the front of the car
coming in, glass flying and seats piling up