Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1902-07-26
ALMOST A MIRACLE
That There Were Not More Fa-
taIities in That PennsyI-
Vania Wreck.
TRAIN WAS GOING 7O-MILE RATE
When Coal Car Running at Like
Speed Crashed Into It-But
Four Killed.

Xenia. O., July 2G.-Only four
killed and Il dozen injured is the al
most miraculous result of the collis-
ion of the Pennsylvania express going
seventy miles an hour. carrying fifty
persons. and meeting Il loaded coal car
descending a long grade at the highest
possible speed. This was the record
at Thebeins, station on the Pennsyl-
vania road three miles west of Xenia,
at 10:3O Thursday night. The train
was the limited which left st. Louis
at l p. m. Thursday and was due i'll
New York last night. 1t carried two
mail cars, baggage car, a day coach
and four Pullmans. 1t left Dayton
twenty minutes late and was running
to make up lost time.
No Time To DO Anything.
1t was dark, and the engineer could
see nothing of the deadly coal car that
was runninSwild until his headlight
flashed upon the obstruction. There
was no time for checking speed There
was hideouS crash; the coal car was
torn to SplinterS, the engine was turned
oVer-a ShapeIeSs wreck All the cars
except the two rear PullmanS were
thrown into heap together. and to
add 10 the horror Il gas tank under
one of the cars exploded and the
wreckage caught fire. To the presence
of mind of Clarence Kincaid, the
treasurer of the Colonial Distilling
company at TrebeinS. was due the pre-
ventiOn of another fearful wreck. He
warned fast freight that was com
ing and would have piled up ON the
express wreck.
Names of the Dead and Hurt
Help from the Nenia and Dayton
fire departments was obtained to ey-
tinguish the flames. The passengers
who escaped did all in their power to
rescue those less fortunate. Workmen
in the vicinity and residents gave val
liable assistance. Strange to say un-
der such circumstances only four per-
sons We're killed-Engineer William
Clark, of Columbus; Fireman William
Dwyer, of Cincinnati; Postal Clerks
Charles s. McWown, of Greenfield
Ind, and NJ. NJ. Peters. of Columbus
The injured whose names were OBJ
tanned are: George \. Clifford and Will
liam G.. Forsythc. indianapolis. scald-
ed, and latter injured internally; JAS
McFadden, indianapolis, cut on head ::
Fred Carpenter, indianapolis. stunned
and cut; Bessie Donovan, Irwin. Pa.
vut about head. not seriously: Mollie
Collins, Louisville, Ky, head cut. None
of these will die.
Novel Cause of the Disaster.
The coal car which was the cause
of the disaster was being switched at
Nenia. When YardmdSter sullivan saw
that the brakes would not work he
jumped from the car. which had not
then attained great speed, and at
tempted to throw switch by which
it would be put into Il siding. but he
failed in this. and then made an effort
TO catch the car again. Finding that
his efforts to stop the car We're fruit
less, Sullivan then came back and no.
titled the yard engine. and Il wild
chase of nearly three miles enSued in
an effort to oVertake the car. But this
also failed, the car having attained
such speed and such start that all
efforts We're of no avail. 1t is esti-
mated that the coal car must have
been running over seventy miles an
hour when the crash occurred.