Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-11-28
Terrible Accident on Wabash Road
Near Sand Greek, Mich.
FAST PASSENGER TRAINS COLLIDE
Estimated That 100 Persons Lost
Their Lives in Wreck.
MANY BODIES CREM ATED

DETROIT. Mich. November 2s-Two
passenger trains on the Wabash road one
going west. the other east. met in a fright
| full collision while going at almost fun
! speed one mile east of Seneca, Mich. a
! village eleven miles west of Adrian. short
| ly after 4 o'clock last night. Both trains
were wrecked in the dreadful impact, en-
failing tremendous loss OF life, estimated
| from so to 100 The list of injured will
probably reach I25.
The west bound train was known as No
Is and was regular which. besides its
| regular coaches, had several coaches filed
with Italian immigrants going west from
New York. The eastbound train was
known as No. 4. the continental limited. II
was vestibuled train. consisting Of bag
gage car, combination coach and sleeper
The cause of the wreck was a misreading
of orders by Engineer Strong OF the con-
tinental limited The order, II is claimed,
read: Pass at Seneca" but Strong under
stod ii to read Sand Creek The conductor
of the train did not know that the engineer
had misunderstood the order and supposed
that his train was going on a siding. Find
ing that the train was running rapidly, the
conductor put on the air brakes himself,
but Ii was too late. The two trains crash
ed together and the cars on the westbound
train were crumpled up in heap OF ruins.
Engineer Strong's Statement.
Engineer Strong stated in positive terms
to an Associated Press reporter that his
order directed him 10 pass trains Nos. 13
and Che latter closely followed No. 13
from DetroiD at Sand Creek. Said Strong:
Il saw the headlight of No. 13 four or FIVE
miles before the collision occurred. but
supposed the train was side-tracked at
Sand Creek waiting for TO pass. The
glare of the powerful headlight made IL
impossible to see the exact location Of the
other train. My firemap and both jumped
from the rght-hand gangway."
Strong and the fireman were both hurled
800 feet. but although scratched. cut and
! terribly Jared they were not seriously in
jured.
The immigrants and other passengers on
train No. 13 were crushed between The
splintered cars. If any escaped without in
jury it will be considered a miracle.
To add to the horror the wreckagc caught
fire instantly, and in short time the bod
les of the dead and those of the injured
who were pinned down were being burned
The scene which followed was heart
rending in the extreme. The spot wilere
the wreck occurred was in the open coun-
try, with but one farm house near by. and
facilities for aiding the injured were ex-
tremely inadequate.
AS soon as the news Of the disaster reach
ed Superintendent Burns here a relief train
was dispatched to the scene with a score
or more Of surgeons on board. Farmers
nearby. and those who escaped from the
wreck alive. made heroic efforts to rescue
the less fortunate.
The condition Of the wreck was such that
in the darkness it was impossible TO render
immediate aid
Fought for Their Lives.
Immediately after the collision six Of the
cars of the westbound train, crowded with
immigrants, burst into flames. The unfor-
tunates fought madly in their attempts to
crawl out of doors and windows, thus hin
dering each other, so that the bulk Of them
were unable to escape.
The immigrant train was made up of nine
cars behind two engines. Six cf these cars
were jammed together. Very soon the
wreckage began burning fiercely and those
in the cars were slowly roasted to death.
There was absolutely no means at hand to
fight the fire, and the agonized shrieks Of
the poor unfortunates was appalling.
ut was veritable he'll of fire." said Vic
tor c. Greenbaum of New York city, who
escaped with slight injuries.
People who came hurrying to the scene
from farm houses in that locality stood
about the wreckage helpless and held
their hands to their ears to shut out the
frightful screams, and turned their eyes
away because it was more than they could
bear
The scene Immediately surrounding the
wreck was terrible. In the semi-darkness,
Illuminated only by the glare from the fire
of the wreckage, men stumbled about over
corpses which fell from the ruins, and
which after the flames had died out were
hauled from the debris. There they lay
along the track, some covered by blankets,
which had been brought by farmers who
had focked to the scene from the surround
ing country. People came hurrying from
the nearby villages, and these. with the
help of those who escaped on train No. 4,
did what they could.
Immigrants Could Not Speak English.
The immigrants who were lucky enough
to get out alive from the last one two
immigrant cars were unable to speak Eng
lish and could give no idea apparently OF
the number of people that were in each car.
The conductor of this train could not be
found, and for this reason the est innate OF
the number of dead must be considered
purely as approximate: railroad doctors and
others agreed that the number must ap-
proach 100 When the relief trains arrived
as many of the injured as could be carried
were taken to Montpelier. Ohio; Peru, Ind,
and to the hospitals at Ardrian.