The Marlboro democrat. [volume] (Bennettsville, S.C.) 1882-1908, 1903-07-17
{; A!s TAI COLLISION.
Conductors Dreadful Mistake That
Cost Many Lives.
TWENTY-THREE KILLED.
The Man Whose Oversight Caused
Death and Destruction Insane
From Mental Anguish
Further Details.

Twenty three persons were killed
and nine persons were injured in Il
& head-on collision.on the Virginia Mid
land division Of the Southern railway
at Rocklish, Va, at II minutes after
o'clock Tuesday afternoon. lasscn-
ger train No. 35, leaving Washington
at 1l.15 Il. M, for Atlanta, Ga,
dashed into local freight No. IS,
standing on the main line Of the road
at that point, wrccking both engines
and the baggage and express car OF
No. 30. The baggage car and The
sccond-class passenger coach immcdi-
atcly following 1t tclcScopcd. The
coach was occupied mostly by colorcd
people. The casualties thus far re-
ported in detail are as follows:
Killed.:
Engineer Davis.
Engineer Mccormick, who was rid
ing asa passenger on No. 6S.
colOrcd fireman on No. CiS.
The freight train was in charge Of
Conductor Brubeck and Engineer Hale
. and at the time Of tho accident was
on the return run from Lynclburg to
charlottesville.
isUckiisti station is mid way l,ctwccr
these two points and The track there
is a single one. Engineer had orders
toget out OF the way Of the passenger
train but for some reason which has
rot yet been explained he overstaycd
his time and had failed to. take Il sid
ing SO that the passenger train could
pass. The trains came together with
Il horrible crash and fearful scene Of
panic cnSued when the occupants of
The cars realized what had occurred.
Train No. b ran into the freight
which left Washington Tuesday morn
lnB aG l.43 was made up Of an cX.
press car, Il baggage car, two day
coaches and two Pullman cars The
two Pullmans formed an early morn
ing New York connection ~ Wash
ington for Atlanta and tho south.
The train arrived there at 1922 IL. M.
from Boston also connected with No.
10 No. 35 was in charge Of Engi-
neer Davis and Conductor Mays One
OF the passenger cars Of the train was
n SECOND class day coach and the other
& Il yestibulc car.
Engineer Mccormick, who was a
passenger on the freight train, was
going to Charlottesville TO take Il train
south at the time he met his deaf Il.
The engineer Of the freight escaped
without injury.
1t is estimated here that there were
IN all probability 10 passengers on
the train, including those from Boston
and intermediate stations.
1t was ut first reported that l;ag-
gagcmaSter Payne Of train No b had
met his death in the wreck. Later
reports, however, show that this is in
correct. lie was caught under one
OF The coaches and was badly stunned,
but later he revived and probably will
recover. 1t is now said to he almost
certain that 10 were colorcd persons,
as the second-class coach which was
tclescoped was occupied almost cxclu-
sively by them.
Later advices from llsc scene of the
wreck are that the freight train Which
sYaS on the main track had been there
lor SIX minutes longer than the orders
directed! when the collision occurred.
LATTER ACCOUNT.
n special from Charlottesville. Va.
says; Southern railway passenger
train No. 35, southbond, ran into an
open switch at ROcktiSh depot, 20
miles south Of this city, at :, o'clock
Tuesday afternoon, smashing into Il
siding. The passenger engine and
express coach tclcScopcd through the
second class passenger car in Tie rear.
In kthc 'lattcr was Il party if immi-
grants, all Of whom wore Killed or IN.
jured. The dead number - and the
;njnred number H. Traffic waS S,is-
pended for eight hours.
The dead, us have been identified.
are:
Engineer James Mccormick OF Char
lottcsyillle
Engineer Charles Davis Of Alex
andria
Thomas Sheppard Of Charlpttcs
vile, brakeman on freight train.
Charles L. Gay OF Cllar}oltesyilc,
fireman on freight.
j. f.. Lowe, colorcd, Of Baltimore.
ChaS. ~. Lcitch cUlorcd, dining car
water.
G. O. Owen. Philadelphia, boileri in
Spcctor.
Adam f. NicOcSavlicvich, Austrian
boy.
I;arilani Gugclmo Austrian wo-
man.
TWO unknown Austrian women
Unknown mulatlo woman.
The injured arc:
Engineer Hale Of Charlottesville,
Injuries To spine.
III. a. Sharpe Of Knoxville, Tenn,
head and legs bruised and lack hurt.
Turner y. Henry Of Bcntonyllc.
Va, injuries 10 legs, head and shoul !
dcrS.
Walter .1ackSpN, colorcd Of Char
loltcSvlllc, passenger fireman. legs
broken.
AlIstrians, all painfully but not Sc
riously injured.
II. G. Hudson, colorcd, Chatta-
nooga, Tenn, serious wounds ON
! head.
II. H. Mercer, colorcd, Washington,
arms and legs cut and probably in
+ j,lred internally.
j. S. Stcrctt, colorcd, Pullman por-
ter, OF New York, hands, and face
cut.
J. w. Payne Of Alexandria, bag
U1Unrn1C nr iptnrnu1 ini,,rins. f.