The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1906-11-13
Coroner Will Make Effort
to Fix Blame for the
B. & o. Wreck.
TO CALL GRAND JURY
Officials May Have To Answer Before
Special Body For Criminal
Negligence.
Special to Lake County Times.

Valparaiso, Nov. 13.-While the deb
ris is being cleared away at WoodvilIe
where the B. &. o. wreck occurred yes
terday morning. J. c. Carson, of Val
paraiso, coroner of Porter county, is
marshalling his witnesses and gath
ering evidence for the inquest. This,
however, may not begin until Thurs
day.
An attempt will be made to fix the
blame for the catastrophe and it is
more than likely that one or more of
hcials and employees will have to ap-
pear before the grand jury and show
cause why they should not be indicted
for criminal negligence.
Coroner Carson expressed a deter
mination to make the inquest a thor
ough one in order to fix the blame. He
viii insist on having every member of
the train crew, especially of the first
section of the immigrant train, pres
ent and if necessary will arrest them
in order to insure their attendance.
The blame thus far seemingly falls
on the crew of the first section, they
having failed to display the proper
| lights as they passed the eastbound
freight train which stood in the side
track at Woodville.
The first section should have dis
played green lights in order to show
that a second train was following
closely and it should have also given
the proper signal when it passed the
freight.
The lack OF care and energy display
ed by the officials of the road in prose
cutting the search for the missing yes
terday was a matter of criticism. 1t
| was declared that the hired crew of
| searchers stopped work al 4:30 o'clock
| in the afternoon despite the fact that
| the number of missing was still large.
Crowds of thieves, vandals and relic
hunters prowled over the wreckage
until late in the evening, picking up
watches, rings and money and occa-
sionaIly turning over the bones of the
victims in their eagerness to find val
uables. Later residents of Valparaiso,
eight miles distant, volunteered to keep
guard over the wreckage until mid
night.
Mary Semianas, who came from Po-
land with her three children to meet
! her husband, a laborer at Indiana Har-
Dor, was pitched through a window,
but climbed back to rescue her child
rem. AT the hospital it was found
that none was injured seriously
The stories told by the sufferers were
graphic in all the simple force of the
untutored thought. There was scarce
| ly a family in all that old world gath
| ering that had not a death to report
and sudden ending to the dreams of
| years All had relatives in or near
| Chicago who had sent for them to
share the bounty of the great America.
A 14-year-old boy, Alexander Mar
usiewicz, who had gone to Poland for
his mother. and was bringing her and
his sister to the home he had prepared
at 147 Henry street, told this story
while lying on a hospital cot:
We Were all asleep in the bunk,
when suddenly all the seats began to
pile on top of us. and the people began
| to cry and scream. l was caught, but
l managed to pull my feet from under
the seats and then I began to dig for
my mother and sister, who We're bur
led. l could not get them before the
fre came, and l stood there and saw
them burn 10 death.
The boy himself had a scalp wound
and a broken ankle.
Three children journeying from Rus
sia alone TO the home of an elder
OlOli0l dt % musings street ESCAPED
with slight injuries. They were Mary
Fanny and Jacob Levin, their ages
running from to Il years. and they
all had been tagged by their uncle in
kief and sent out of the dangers OF
Russia They became separated dur
ing the wreck. and met again in the
hospital TO find each had a small in
jury.
Some excitement was caused by the
report that railroad attorneys wer,
I, circulating among the injured getting
statements signed. The members o
the Polish National alliance gave ou
orders 10 the immigrants not to sigr
any papers and intimated that CD
lective suits would be brought againS
the company.