Evening star., 1901-12-16
EIGHT KILLED IN WRECK.
Dreadful Collision on Illinois Central
Early Sunday Morning.

Dreadful Collision on Illinois Central
Early Sunday Morning.
Failure on the part of conductor to
obey orders Is supposed to have been the
cause OF head-end collision on the Illinois
Central, between Irene and Perryville, Ill.
early yesterday morning. The two trains
were the east-bound passenger train and a
through freight train from Chicago going
west. AS result eight people are dead or
missing and eleven injured.
The known dead are: Richard Ormsby,
Chicago engineer of passenger train: Jas.
Reardon. Freeport, fireman of passenger
train; Robert Thompson, Dubuque. Amer
lean express messenger; j. w. Funk, Chi
cago, brakeman. passenger train; David
Behan, Freeport, freight engineer; Edward
Carey. Freeport. freight fireman.
Missing and supposed to be dead: News
boy passenger train, name unknown:
section foreman from Irene, name un-
known.
The injured. as far as the names have
been ascertained. are as follows:
H. G. Weliman, Chicago right arm
crushed of at elbow. condition critical: d.
R. Aherndt, Chicago. cut and bruised by
broken glass; J. II. Quinlan, passenger
conductor, cut and bruised, crushed about
the chest. condition critical: W. B. Keefe,
Sioux City, Iowa, head severely cut: Frank
Stadle, New Athens ILL.,, cut about head
and arms; Thomas Hendricks, New Athens,
H., cut ana bruised ana nalr ScOrcneQ OH.
Slightly hurt: G. E. Shurtleff. Kankakee,
ILL.,; G. NJ. Burch kankakee; M. Z. Frank
lin. Lake City, Iowa; A. L. Boggs, St.
Louis; John Hussey, Independence, Iowa
The trains met in a slight bend in the
track, both running at full speed
The smoking, express and baggage cars
were piled on the locomotives, pennfng in
the occupants of the smoker. Only three
Of the half dozen In that car escaped. The
others were penned in, and If not instantly
killed were roasted to death. and their
bodies, with those Of the engine crews,
were entirely consumed.
All efforts Of the survivors to reach the
victims were unayailing.
The temperature was 20 degrees below
zero and an Icy wind was blowing, the
point where the wreck occurred being in a
shallow cut, affording no protection. The
injured were without hats and wraps. and
suffered terribly. BY the united efforts OF
the survivors one car was pushed back
from the wreckage to escape the flames
and the wounded were placed on the hunks
inside
Two hours elapsed before any relief was
at hand. Then an engine arrived from the
east and pulled the car to Irene. three miles
distant.
A relief train was started from Rockford
at 1 80 am with medical aid It arrived at
the scene of the wreck twenty minutes
later. In the meantime the injured had
been brought back from Irene and were
transferred to the relief train and brought
to Rockford All the injured are doing
well except A. G. Wellman of Chicago,
who is In critical condition. Six bodies
were recovered from the debris, but were
charred beyond recognition.
J. w. Higgins general superintendent of
Transportation of the Illinois Central rail-
road, whose office Is In Chicago places the
blame for the disastrous wreck on the con-
ductor and engineer Of the freight train.
They are said by Mr.. Higgins to have dis
obeyed the orders. which were to stop at
Irene, several miles east of PerryvilIe