Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1905-08-15
The COLLISION
WAS TERRIBLE
FrightfuI Accident Happen on th'
Nickel Plate Road.S
SIGHT is SICKENING.
Twelve Persons Arc Killed, Twenty.
Five Injured and Several Of the
Latter, 1t Is Tn 'ught,
Cannot Survive. 1

Cleveland. Aug. ia fast, east
bound passenger train on the MCKEE
Plate road collided with westbound
freight train Sunday at Kishman. o..
near vermillion. resulting I'm the death
of twelve persons. while at least
twenty-five others were injured. eight
Of whom will probably die. The wreck.
according to the officials OF the COM
pany. was caused by II misunderstand-
on the part of the crew of the freight
train.
The forward cars of the freight train
were splintered to fragments. or the
passengers i'm the smoker none escaped
injury. Fortunately there was no fire
The injured were hurried to Lorain
and placed in the hospital The dead
were conveyed to morgues at LoEsin-
When the trains came together al
most everybody in the smoker was doz
ing. The sudden jair hurled them out
of their seats into the aisle and threw
several persons to the roof and sides OF
the car. which seemed all crushed In
like paper bags, pinning down each
passenger In the position in which he
was caught. The passengers In the sec
ond car escaped easily as the violence
of the impact was not so severe, al
though few got of without bruises.
sprains or broken bones. The Two rear
cars were sleepers and they withstood
the shock without suffering serious
harm. No passengers in the sieepers
were injured.
Aside from the injured the men killed
on the passenger train were all riding
in the smc'-er at the head of the train
and mostly foreign laborers employed
by the Standard Oil company on their
way TO Brookefield. o.. in charge of a
foreman. Engineer Poole of the pas
senger train was killed at his post
while trying to reach for the aiH brake
after seeing the headlight of the Freight
train. His fireman. Haefner, saved him
self by jumping.
The high speed OF the passenger
train threw its engine and first three
coaches over on the engine of the
hAi anu NtlrSCOplfk lfle smoker
and the car following.
The engineer and fireman tof the
freight train saved themselves by
jumping as soon as they saw the pas
senger train coming.
Roy Winch of Ffndiay who. although
severely injured. was the - smay to
rush into the WRECKED - -.
take part In The work OF rese,l Ave
the following account OF the terrible
sight within: The living. the wound
ed and the dead were piled in one indis-
criminate mass all over the floor OF the
car: the living entsngled with the arms
and legs of the dead. and many OF them
pinned down by the dead bodies of the
Italians.
Some OF the dead were SO badly
smashed that through their mouths
protruded hideous masses OF intestines
Two men. Italians. ! saw pinned
down. one on top being caught IN some
way about the chest so that he could
not get away. The man underneath him
was also held down mainly by the
weight OF the man on top who in his
frantic efforts to get away, kicked the
man under him literally to death.
Terrorized by the deaths NJ their
companions. the hiss of escaping steam
and the fear Of death in the darkness
the Italians fought with one another
and stampeded over the living and dead
In their efforts 10 get out of the car
Several were almost as badly injured
by hghtinE each other as ny the wreck
The engineer OF the passenger train
was nipped between the engine and
tender and when we found him he was
hanging head down by the shreds OF
one leg over the side Of the engine. Two
men held him In an upright position for
over half an hour before we were able
10 release him He died shortly after
ward He was conscious only a part OF
the time"