Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1900-09-06

Rear-Nearly All of the Dead
Stories ns to the Responsibility for
the Tragedy.
Philadelphia, Sept. 3.-Thirteen per-
sons killed and over thirty others in
jured Is the appalling record of rear
end collision between an excursion
train and a milk train on the Beth
lehem branch of the Philadelphia and
Reading railway yesterday morning at
Hatfield, Pa, 27 miles north of this
city.
The killed are: Miss Annie Sherry,
aged Il years, South Bethlehem; Rob-
ert Miller, q, South Bethlehem; Rich
ard Bachman, 40, South Bethlehem;
William Ehret, %, South Bethlehem;
Ira Ehret, 20, brother OF William,
South Bethlehem; Joseph Mordaunt,
%, South Bethlehem; Charles McFon-
igle. Allentown; Thomas Day, Allen
town; Miss Mamie Kaelin, IA, Telford;
Godfrey Kaelin, father of Mamie; Will
lam Blackburn, Amber; Harold Lam
dis, Hatfield; - Ackerman, Philadel-
phia.
The injured: John David, Philadel-
phia, engineer of excursion train,
skull fractured, critical; Albert ].
Wagner, Philadelphia, fireman eXcur-
sion train, contusions chest and legs.
serious; Wilson Crosland, South Beth
lehem, baggagemaster Of milk train,
head lacerated. serious; Michael ].
Tighe, Allentown, legs crushed and
burned, serious; John German, South
Bethlehem; foot crushed; John Nc
Hugh, South Bethlehem, leg and thigh
injured and hurt internally, not seri-
Gus; Abraham Transue. Jr., South
Bethlehem, deep scalp wounds, con-
fusion of back and internally injured,
serious; Mrs. William Burkhardt,
South Bethlehem, injured internally;
Miss Gertrude Burkhardt, South Beth
lehem, both legs broken; P. J. Nc
Mahon, South Bethlehem, ankle
broken; John Reichley, South Beth
lehem. internally injured; Mrs. George
Harrison, arm broken and confusion
of body; Irwin Newhard, head badly
cut; Mary Newhard, South Bethlehem,
crushed ribs; Miss Carrie Bachman,
daughter Of Richard Bachman, who
was killed, chest crushed, serious;
Miss Brennan, South Bethlehem, arm
broken; l.. T. Hartzog, South Beth
lehem, arm broken; Harry Schlott,
South Bethlehem, leg confused; Ed
ward Reese, Allentown, confusion Of
shoulder and legs; Mrs. S. Haber, AL
lentown, both legs broken; John
Schantz. Allentown, toes crushed;
William Schantz, Allentown, thigh in
jured; Miss Schaeffer. Allentown. legs
broken; Mary Koch, fractured legs;
Lewis Knecht, Bethlehem, confusion
of legs; George Lands, Bethlehem,
scalp wounds; Mrs. Alfred Schmoyer,
Bethlehem, badly lacerated; Annie
Miller. South Bethlehem, hips crushed; {;
William Wilmeyer, South Bethlehem,
badly lacerated; Mrs. Wilmeyer, legs
crushed; Hon. w. II. Rosenberg, Of
Lansdale, Jaw broken and internally
injured, serious.
The wrecked train consisted of ten
day coaches, and was the first section
Of large excursion made up of people
from Bethlehem, Allentown and sur
rounding towns to Atlantic City. This
section carried only those persons who
lived in Bethlehem and Allentown, and
left the Union depot in Bethlehem at
s: :05 a. m, exactly IS minutes behind
the milk train. The latter train con-
sisted Of two milk cars and two pas
senger coaches, and had stopped at
every station on the road from Beth
lehem en- route to Philadelphia. At
6:54 the milk train drew up at the
milk platform at Hatfield, and in less
than two minutes the special excursion
train running at the rate of 80 miles
an hour, crashed into the rear of the
milk train. The locomotive ploughed
through the two passenger coaches
and crushed them as II they were egg
shells. The milk car Immediately in
front was also badly wrecked. Four
persons, Godfrey Kaelin, his daughter,
Mamie, Harold Lands and William
Blackburn, in the passenger cars of
the milk train, were almost instantly
killed. Fortunately there were very
few persons on this train.
The excursion train was a picture
| OF indescribable horror. The locomo-
tive was mass Of bent and broken
iron, and firmly held the bodies Of its
engineer and fireman beneath it's great
weight. Behind the engine six of the
ten cars were also mass of wreckage.
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 were badly manned.
AS soon as the crash came terrible
cry arose from the smashed cars, and
those who had not been injured quick
ly crawled or jumped from the cars
and went to the assistance of the in
jured Many were pinned down by
| wreckage and had to be freed by the
| liberal use OF axes. With three or four
exceptions the dead were killed In
stantly, the others dying on their way
to the hospitals. The injured were
| first taken to a shed at the Hatfield
station. and the dead were removed
! to a barn. Messages were sent to the
nearby villages for physicians. and a
relief train was telegraphed for from
Bethlehem. With 15 doctors and half
| q dozen nurses, a special train was
| sent from Bethlehem, but before 1t
reached the scene of the wreck II was
| signaled to return to Bethlehem, as a
special carrying nearly all the injured
had started for the hospital at that
! place. On the run from Hatfield to the
hospital three Of the injured died.
Great trouble was experienced in keep
ing the relatives away from the in
| jured on the train so that the doctors
gathered from near Hatfield could at
tond IN tho uOupiad
The special train arrived at Beth
iehem at IL: 80 and was met by fully
| 5000 persons, all clamoring to get
some news of the wreck or trying to
learn neither loved ones were among
the victims. The news OF the wreck
had reached Bethlehem at o'clock.
and spread like wildfire. All the po-
lice of the town were gathered at the
station, and 1t was with great difficulty
that the injured were removed to the
waiting ambulances and other vehicles.
which conveyed them to the hospitals
All during the day people from Allen
town, Catasauqua and other places
came pouring into Bethlehem. and
confusion reigned throughout the day
Tho Saoond section Of the excursion