Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-12-08
He Was the Driver of Express That
Plunged Into President Spencer's
Private Car.
TWO TRAINS IN SAME BLOCK
Death List May Mount to Six-Again
Question of Flagman Arises
Statement That He Was
Not Sent Back.
Special Dispatch to The Star.

Special Dispatch to The Star.
DANVILLE, Va. December s.-Wthin
scarcely week since the great Thanksgiv-
ing tragedy near Lawyers on the Southern,
in which President Samuel Spencer was
killed. together with six other persons, and
within two hours ride of the scene of that
disaster, ans frightful wreck occurred
in this city 'oday, resulting in the killing
outright of four persons. the probable fatal
injury of another, which. with the posi-
blity of there being another body beneath
the mass of smoldering debris which marks
the scene of the accident, presents the pos
sibility of death list of six.
The wreck occurred at 4:30 this morning,
and was caused by a rear-end collision be-
tween freight train No 81 northbound and
through freight and fast passenger train
No. "a from Jacksonville to New York. The
wreck occurred only a few hundred yards
from the passenger station of the Southern
railway in this city.
The freight train was standing on the
main line of the Southern and had been
thus stationed according to the statement
of the railway employees for about a half
hour. Number 81, the passenger turned a
sharp curve just above the scene of the
wreck. running at a rate of about thirty
miles an hour. and plunged into the ca
bose of the freight train without warming
Engineer Kenny Killed.
Instantly all was chaos. The giant Mogul
engine reared itself high above the little
freight ears of the front train and crashed
down on top of the caboose. splintering it,
Engineer George Kenny of Thomasvile N.
c., and the same who was at the throttle
of No. 81 on last Thanksgiving morning
when that train plunged into the private
of President Spencer. near Lawyers,
was in the cab of No. 3k AS on the for
mer occasion he stuck to his post through
it all. but, as fate would have it, this time
he was not as fortunate as before. Then
he came through without scratch and ran
his engine into the Spencer shops at night
Today he lies corpse on the ground near
the scene of the wreck. scalded almost be-
yond recognition and crushed into a shape
less mass. His fireman, negro named
George Ford. jumped from the engine as
soon as he saw the freight train ahead of
him and he is fatally injured at a hospital
In this city not expected to live. AS soon
as the crash was heard in the station below
hurry call was sent for relief, and the
physicians of the city and the fire depart-
ment repaired to the scene in short order.
Trains Catch Fire
BY this time fire had broken out from
the fire box of the locomotive and the
flames We're raging among six or eight of
the freight cars of that train. These were
almost totally destroyed before the con-
Migration was checked and the rest of the
two trains was placed beyond any danger
of destruction. The dead bodies were soon
recovered from the ruins. One of these
Kenny. was still in his cab with hand
closed around the reversing lever of his
engine showing the pitiable efforts made
TO stop the flight of the great iron horse
after he realized the DANCER in which he
had been placed. The other body was
mangled and burned beyond all recogni-
ton and probably will never be accounted
for When taken from the ruins It was
placed in a mail pouch and presented
most horrible and gruesome spectacle
The fireman. George Ford. was, together
with Mail Clerk o. O. Halter. Flagman A
J. Null and Brakeman III. NJ. Patterson.
taken to the general hospital here
Ford is seriously injured and not expected
TO live. Halter is suffering from slight
bruises while Pattersons right leg is badly
crushed and his back sprained. Halter was
the postal clerk on No. "a and Patterson
was learning the road from Monroe to
Spencer in order to take a position as
brakeman.
Two Trains in Block
He was in the caboose al the time of the
accident, and states that Null. the fiagman.
did not go back to flag any trains when
stopped Null was found in the baggage
few minutes after arriving there however
he died in an unconscious condition, never
having made any coherent stateme,.t as to
mis- whereabouts. or as to why he did not go
back to flag the passe ger train. He is. the
railway authorities claim, directly respon-
sible fer the accident, although there Is
also some responsibility resting between
the two operators of block stations in Dan
VILE and a station called jana. several
miles from here. The two trains were in