The San Francisco call., 1903-12-27
Signal
Light and Trains
Collide.
Seventeen Perish on the
Pere Marquette Road
in Michigan.
Both locomotives and the Foremost
Coaches Are Demolished by the
Terrific Impact.

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich, Dec. 2s.-
Seventeen persons az dead and thirty
one injured, several of them fatally, as
the result of a collision early this even
ing of two passenger trains on the Pere
Marquette Railroad half a mile west
of East Paris and six miles east of this
city. The collision, which was head-on,
was caused, according to a statement
issued by the officials of the road at the
general offices in Detroit, by the high
wind blowing out the red signal lamp
at McCords, where the westbound
train, No. g. should have stopped and
received orders to pass the eastbound
train at Fox.
The officials deny the report that a
misunderstanding of orders on the part
of one of the engineers was RESPONSE
BILE for the collision. According to the
statement OF the officials the trains
were originally to have met and pass
ed at Oal1dale Park, but to help the
eastbound train the dispatcher issued
new orders fixing Fox as the meeting
place. The eastbound train received
this order and the westbound should
have received it at McCords. Instead,
the train rushed by this station, and
the operator there, after reroKting this
fact found. on going out to the plat
form. that his red light, which had
been burning two minutes before, had
been extinguished. presumably by the
high wind that was blowing.
PARTIAL iLIST OF VICTIMS.
An incomplete list of the dead fol-
lows
CHARLES A. sToDDARD, engineer.
Detroit
WILLIAM HEINRICH, baggage
man. Grand Rapids.
CHARLES A DEVINE, Grand Rap
ids
WILLIAM SMITH, farmer, near Sar-
anac, Mich.
ALLEN H. WELLS, Big Rapids,
Mich.
PETER w. WIERENGO, Grand Rap
ids
ED BURNS, fireman.
EIGHT UNIDENTIFIED MEN.
TWO UNIDENTIFIED WOMEN.
The severely injured are: Charles
West, skull fractured, may die: George
Palmer, injured about head and breast:
Lester A Williams, left arm torn off,
injured about head and body; Rev.
James Humphrey, cut about head; Mrs.
II. ut, internally injured; Mrs.
H. r. Stre@ter, cut about head; Mrs.
J. A. Gray injured about head and hip;
Mrs. H. O'Brien, injured about head;
Miss Gale Sprague, injured about head;
John Post, nose broken; Gerritt Mott
man, injured internally. All of the in
jured live in Michigan.
MEET WITH AWFUL CRASH.
The trains met with terrific crash,
the baggage and smoking cars behind
each locomotive being reduced to
kindling wood. The engines were COM
pletely wrecked. the boiler of the one
which had pulled the eastbound train
being torn completely from the running
gear and standing perpendicularly in
ditch at the side of the track.
Engineer Frank Waterman, who sur
vived the catastrophe, says he and +.
b. Moon, the fireman, were caught be-
fore they had time to save themselves.
He says he did not see the eastbound
train until the crash came. With few
exceptions no persons occupying cars
other than the baggage and smoking
cars were seriously injured.
Within two minutes the uninjured
male passengers and those Of the train
crew who had not been hurt had begun
the work of rescue. Travelling Agent
Frank Hewitt of the Pere Marquette,
who was on the train bound for De-
troit, and who escaped with slight in
iuries, ran to the nearest telegraph of
flee and telegraphed for a wrecking
train and surgeons. Guided by groans
and cries frcm the wrecked cars, the
rescuers, by the light of lanterns,
delved into the wreckage, and, with
fence timbers for levers, pried out the
sufferers
SURGEONS REACH SCENE.
A special train bearing surgeons and
officials was made up here Immediately
after the news was received and ar
rived at the wreck sat 7:15 o'clock
Those of the injured who had been ex-
tricated were immediately taken into
the train and given emergency surgi-
cal aid and the officials joined in the
rescue work. When all the injured had
been taken out Of the wreck the hos
pital train was rushed back to Grand
Rapids. Here ambulances were in
waiting to carry them to the hospitals,
where all arrangements had been made
for their reception. The uninjured pas
sengers also were brought back here.
Three persons were killed right in
front of my eyes, said Miss Eva
,,iol,f che ot tho had