The herald-advance. (Milbank, S.D.) 1890-1922, 1903-07-31
KILLED IN WRECK
COLLISION BETWEEN PASSENGER
AND FREIGHT TRAINS ON
GREAT WESTERN.
FOUR DEAD AND SEWN INJURED
PASSENGERS HURLED IN ALL d.
REGIONS WHEN THE
TRAINS CRASH.
FOUR DEAD AND SEWN INJURED
MISUNDERSTANDING OF ORDERS
BY THE FREIGHT CREW THOUGHT
TO BE THE CAUSE OF
THE WRECK.

st. Paul, July 2S.-Four persons, a
passenger and three trainmen, were
killed in a head-On collision between a
passenger and a freight train on the
Great Western at VaIasaty, Mimi, at D
o'clock yesterday morning. Seven
were seriously injured. About thirty
passengers. some Of them women,
were slightly hurt.
The wreck is thought to have been
caused by the misunderstanding of
orders by the freight crew.
There was an impenetrable fog at
the time of the collision, and few of
the passengers were awake. Both
passenger and freight trains We're
running on time, and the regular place
Of meeting was Velasaty.
Passenger Train No. l was coming
to St. Paul in two sections, the second
half being filled with eXcursionists
from Des Moines. Orders were sent
out that the second section was three
hours late, and it is presumed that the
conductor and engineer of the freight
Read the Order
as meaning the first section, and went
straight ahead without taking the sid
ing at Velasaty, figuring on reaching
Hayfeld, only nine miles further, be-
fore the beIated train reached there.
The first section, however, was on
| time, and was gOing at the rate OF
forty-fve miles an hour when 1t
crashed into the freight engine. Many
Of the passengers were in the smoker,
and were hurled in all directions
about the car, and some of them were
thrown through the windows, while
others lay in a helpless condition be-
tween the wrecked seats, unable TIC
assist themselves, and had to be
pulled out through the windows.
All were bruised. and many of them
were badly cut. The two giant loco
motives remained upright, but almost
T]elescoped Each Other.
Engineer Markert of the passenger
train was pinned in the cab and botf
his legs were cut off. His body was
badly mutilated.
Engineer Holman of the freight me-
his death in a peculiar manner. The
coal from the tender was thrown Int
the cab of the engine and Hellma1
was crushed against the front of thu
boiler and held there. His head ant
face we're crushed. The coal caugh
fire and he vas partly incinerated be
fore his body was taken out.
Keene. the fireman, was hurled iron
the cab and fell unconscious SO nea
the wreck that he was badly scaldet
Inv the escaping steam. Hickey, tn
fireman of the passenger train, wa
slowly being
ScaIded to Death
beside his dead engineer when ne wa
taken out. 1t is thought his in]urle
are fatal.
Fireman Coean of Des Moines an
his wife and child were riding on
mass. He was going to visit his motf
or in Minneapolis. In the course G
tba tourney he went into the engin
cab TO visit his friend Markest, an
was killed..
Fred Horton, a passenger fror
Dodoe Center. was standing on IL
nIatform of the smoker talking to al
other man when the crash came. II
was hurled from the car and Tell
corpse to the ground. Strangely, nov
ever. his companion remained on tn
-. platform, only his, hat being carrie
? away. .u.
The passengers who were inJure
got their injuries by being tosse
ohor+ in the interior of the coaches.