The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-09-07
THIRTEEN PEOPLE KILLED
THIRTY INJURED BY THE COLLISION
OF TWO TRAINS
SOMEBODY'S TERRIBLE MISTAKE
A Crowded Excursion Train Crashes
Into a Philadelphia Milk Trafn-The
Two Passenger Coaches of h Latter
sion Train Torn to Pieces-The En-
gineer and Fireman Buried Beneath
Their Locomotives.

Thirteen persons killed and over thirty
others injured is the appalling record
Of a rear-end collision between an ex-
cursion train and a milk train on the
Bethlehem branch of the Philadelphia
Hatfield, Pa, twenty-seven miles north
of this city.
The killed are: Miss Annie Sherry.
aged q years, Richard Bachman, 10
years, South Bethlehem: Ira Ehret, 20
years, William Ehret, % years, Joseph
Mordaunt. - years. South Bethlehem:
Charles McFonigle. Thomas Day, Al
lentown; Miss Mamie Kaelin, II years.
Telford: Godfrey kaelin. father of Ma
mie; William Blackburn, Amber; Har-
old Lands, Hatfield: - Alderman.
Philadelphia and Robert Miller.
The wrecked train consisted of ten
day coaches and was the first section
of a large excursion made VI of people
from Bethlehem, Allentown and sur
rounding towns to Atlantic City. 1t
left the union depot in Bethlehem at
sos a. m, exactly thirVy-ive minutes
behind the milk train. The latter train
consisted of two milk cars and we
passenger coaches and had stopped at
every station on the Dad from Bethle-
hem en- route to Philadelphia. At 6.54
the milk train drew W at the milk plat
form at Hatfield AND in less than two
minute the special excursion train,
running at the rate of thirty-five miles
an hour, crashed into the rear Of the
milk train The locomotive ploughed
through the two passenger coaches and
crushed them as il they were egg
shells. The milk car Immediately in
front vas also badly wrecked Four
| persons, Godfrey Kaelin, his laughter,
Mamie, Harold Lands and William
Blackburn, on the passenger cars of the
milk train, were almost instantly kill
ed. Fortunately there were very few
persons on this train.
The excursion train was a picture of
in~descrfbable horror. The locomotive
was a mass of bent and broken iron,
and firmly held the bodies of it's en-
gineer and fireman beneath its great
weight. Behind the engine, six of the
ten cars We're also a mass of wrckage.
The first car was broken in twain, and
the other five cars were thrown on
their sides, completely demolished.
Nine persons were killed in the first
two cars and the others in these
coaches We're badly MANNED.
AS soon as the crash came a terrible
cry rose from the smashed cars, and
those who had not been injured quickly
crawled or jumped from the cars and
went to the assistance of the injured.
Many were pinned down by wreckage
and had to be freed by the liberal use
of axes Messengers were sent to the
nearby villages for physicians, and a
relief train was telegraphed for from
Bethlehem. With fifteen doctors and q
half dozen nurses a special train was
sent from Bethlehem, but before Il
reached he scene of the wreck it was
Signaled to retur to Bethlehem, as
| Snpni1l "a IRVING naarIy oil tho inirror
had started for the hospital at thai
place. On the run from Hatfield tt
the hospital three of the injured Liz
Great trouble was experienced in keep,
ing relatives away from the injured or
the train, so that the doctors gathered
from near Hatfield could attend to tn.
wounded.
The special train arrived at Bethle
hem at 11.30 a. m. and was met by full
ly 5000 persons, all clamoring to get /;
bit of news Of the wreck or trying t,
learn whether loved ones were amony
the victims. The news of the wrecl
had cache Bethlehem at 8 o'clock ana
the news spread like wild-fire. All tn,
police of the town were gathered at tn,
station, n it was with great difficult,
that the injured were removed to tn
!. waiting ambulances and other vehicles
which conveyed them to the hospitals
All during the day people from Allen
/ town, ~Catasauqua and other place
came pouring into Bethlehem, and con
!. fusion reigned throughout the day. tn
second section of the excursion, mad
. up of persons from towns other thai
, Bethlehem and Allentown, left soon af
ter the first section. but was fiagge.
> down before it reached Hatfield. A
, it could not get through on account o
> the blocked tracks, iE was returned {
, Bethlehem and there was great re
, joicing at the narrow escape of it's &C
. cupants from the catastrophe.
: The coroner of Montgomery count
: promises a rigorous investigation int
the horror.