Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-06-11
BAD RAILWAY WRECK
One Man Dies From the
Effects of Injuries.
THREE OTHERS HURT
CHARLES D. KEYES IN HORRIBLE
AGONY FOR HOURS.
Officials of the Road State the Csuss
OF Accident-Mistake
Made.
Special Dispatch to The Evening Star.

the terrific head-on collision which oc-
CURED between a northbound freight and
a southbound work train on the Southern
road near Ravensworth last night Charles
ID. keyes died at the Alexandria Hospital
today at o'clock. Mr. Keyes, who was
about thirty years old. and railroad insur-
ance agent, was terribly injured his right
hip being crushed his right arm and leg
badly bruised and mashed his face Sc
verely lacerated and his right eye and ear
badly cut When he reached the hospital
he was suffering from the shock to such
an extent that an operation for his relief
was out of the question
The injuries sustained by the other per-
sons in the wreck as ascertained today,
are as follows:
Engineer Mason Saunders of this city
who sustained several bruises over the
body and is said to be in a state bordering
on nervous prostration.
Nathaniel Stanley, also of Alexandria, a
brakeman, whose left leg severely cut.
"A. r. Johnson, colored. OF this city a
fireman, who was cut about the face and
bruised over the body.
While these persons are quite severely
hurt, their condition is not considered seri-
Gus.
Scene of the Collision.
The collision occurred about s o'clock last
evening between northbound local freight
train No. c. and southbound work train
at point just to the north of Ravens
WORTH twelve miles below Alexandria At
the time of the crash both trains were
travelling rapidly. The engines plowed into
each other, the terrific force of the shock
wrecking several of the cars of the local
freight and demoliShing the few attached
to the work engine. Both locomotives were
overturned and several of the cars were
do lad do, al,.l,
ders and his colored fireman saw the i'm
pending disaster too late to jump, which
was the case also with Mr.. keyes but En-
gineer b. G.. Jennings, Fireman II. j. Keyes
and Conductor w. r.. Poole of the south
bound train managed to leap before the
collision They escaped with slight bruises
AS soon as some of the more fortunate of
the trainmen could regain their bearings
after the crash they made an investigation.
which finally revealed young Keyes in a
horrible position. fastened to the earth with
a portion of the wrecked engine on which
he had ridden impinging against his right
side. He was conscious and remained so
throughout a period of about three hours
during which time efforts were being made
to release him. But tire trainmen were
practically powerless until the wrecking
train, which was made up here soou after
the accident. reached the scene. Then il
required a considerable time to removs tie
engine on account of the large mass of de-
bris.
1ioih oSul out.
The news of the wreck was wired to AL
exandria short time after the occurrence
from one of the nearby stations Train
master Abrams at once took energetic
steps to make up a wrecking train which
hurried to Ravensworth. bearing MI
Abrams. Master Mechanic Merriam and DIR.
NJ w. O'Brien, surgeon OF the company.
The train left here between and , o'clock
and wounded who
soon Mr.. keyes was gotten out of the
wreck reached Alexandra at 30 o'clock
this morning. Mr.. Keyes and The colorcd
fireman. Johnson. were conveyed one
to the Alexandria Hospital
Engineer Saunders was able to reach his
home in Prince street between Payne and
Fayette streets, with assistance, and
Brakeman Stanley was conveyed to his
home in Upper Duke street Even at that
hour the large crowd which had hung
around the telegraph offices of the road at
the depot in the early evening, waiting for
details of the accident, had not materially
decreased
Officials of the road state that the wreck
was caused by the passage of the north
bound train by Burkes station, where it had
orders to pass the work train there. Ra-
venSworth is about three miles this side of
Burkes. and there is no loop switch at the
former station. An official of the road sad
this morning that when No. G. passed
BurkeS there was an engine on the siding
there and the presumption was, he said,
that the trainmen had mistaken that en-
gine for the one drawing the work tran.
At any rate No. CO passed Burkes without
stopping and both trains were swinging
rapidly around the sharp curves about
Ravensworth when they dashed down upon
each other.
Wild Rumors Afloat.
1t was late this morning before the track
was cleared away and traffic resumed In
the meantime the southbound passenger
trains were tied up here and the north
bound passenger trains were held at some
point a considerable distance below the
scene of the wreck When the news reach
ed this city last evening it attracted I
large crowd of people to the Southern de-
pot on South Henry street. There were a!
sorts of runors afioat, some to the effect
that three or four men were pinned down
under the wreckage and that their bodies
could not then be eXtricited, and state
ments were going the rounds which had II
that several trainmen were killed, who IL
is now known were not on either of the
trains Among the first reports received
was one to the effect that Engineer oaun
ders and Mr.. Keyes had been killed. This
was at once transmitted to the family OF
Mr.. Saunders, whose distress was not re-
lieved until half hour later, when word
came that he had only been slightly injured.
Mr.. and Mrs. George w. Keyes, the parents
of the unfortunate young agent, were out
or Une city at time, lIe
his alleged death were received
with great regret by the crowd.
Finally about II O'Clock speculation was
put at rest by the announcement, which
was said to be official, that no one had
been killed outright.
Mr.. Keyes, the man who was fatally in
jured, was agent in this section for the
Standard Life and Accident Insurance
Company, and it was his business to travel
daily from point to point along the line OF
the Southern road In Virginia. he left
Alexandria yesterday afternoon on No 10,
the passenger train for the Manassas
branch, in company with his father, who
is inspector of engines on the Southern.
The young man got off at Manassas and
In the evening boarded the engine of No. G2
to return to Alexandria He was riding In
the cab when the collision occurred In
addition to the fireman, engineer and con-
ductor of the work train there were three
other railroad men on that train. They all
escaped by jumping. Conductor George c.