The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1902-12-29
OPERATOR CAUSED THE
DISASTER IN ONTARIO
Cancelled an Order of the Train Dispatcher and
Let the Express Rush to Destruction.
NO Deaths Occurred in the London Hospitals Yesterday and the
Injured Are All Doing Well

7 ONION, Ont, Dec. 2s-There were
no deaths today among the per-
sons injured in Friday nights
collision at Waastead. Ont, on the
Sarnia branch of the Grand Trunk
railroad between the Pacific express,
NO. s. westbound. and an eastbOund
freight, in which twenty-eight persons
lost their lives. Tonight the Associ-
ated Press was informed at the Vic
toria hospital that while several of the
injured are still in a serious condition,
l. is expected that all will recover The
"dy of Fireman Riekett of the express
train, which was last night believed
TO be buried under the wrecked en-
glneS. was found today covered with
snow in the ditch beside the track.
gone arm was completely torn off and
Fhe body otherwise mangled.
Death Instantaneous.
Death must have been instantaneous.
1t is believed that the body was thrown
clear of the engine and into the deep
snow IN the ditch, where in the storm S
darkness the wreckers failed to find it
Friday night. Snow fell rapidly all
that night, so that Ricketts, body was
completely covered at daybreak and
was not found. Today one of the men
working at the wreck noticed d little
4 mound in the ditch, and investigation
showed Ricketts, body under the snow
Tonight there is but one body unidenti-
ned at the morgue here that of wo-
man, who was ticketed from Toronto
TO Duluth. The mans body which was
unidentified last night was identified
today as that of George D. Southern of
Lockport. n. Y.
Operators Story.
Andrew Carson. the operator at Wat
ford, the first station east of the
wreck, whose failure to deliver orders
TO Conductor McAuliffe of the Pacific
express, to pass the freight at Wan
stead, is said by the Grand Trunk Of
fcials to have caused the wreck, today
made to the Associated Press his first
statement since the wreck. he SAYS he
received the order for No. 5, the ex-
press, to pass the freight at Wanstead
at 9:4S O'Clock, but declares positively
that a few minutes later Dispatcher j.
G. Kerr. at London. called him and or
dered him TO bust or cancel the order
He said
About 9:54 after calling wyoming
end ascertsining that the freight was
there, the dispatcher called me rapid
~ half-dOzen times. When 1 an
swered on the wire he told me to bust
this order. ] wrote Bust it, across the
Gave Conductor Clearance.
Conductor McAuhffe came in and
asked me what the order board was
out against him for. l told him that
we had had an order for him. but the
ssdiSAatcher had busted it. He asked
ne to hurry and to write him clear
ance, which I did. After the train had
started and was out of my reach the
dispatcher learned that the freight had
lett Wyoming. 1 told him I could not
stop No. 5, as it had left He immedi-
ately began calling Kings Court juno
ton. the station between WatfOrd and
Wanstead. on the railroad wire, and T
tried to raise them on a commercial
wire. We both failed to do this. how
Ser, until after the express had passed
the Junction"
Carson admitted that he knew it was
against the rules of the company to
cancel a train order without sending a
substitute for it, but said that the dis
patcher was his superior officer and