The San Francisco call., 1907-03-29
MANY ARE KILLED IN
WRECK NEAR COL TON
Overland Plunges Into an
Open Switch With
Fearful Result
CARS ARE SMASHED
Most of Dead Were Ital-
ians on Way to San
Francisco

Continued From Page 4, Column 1
Frank Toombs. cut and bruised; John
Depoe. with Florence Roberts Com
pany. head badly cut; G. S. Jones. Los
Angeles. wrist sprained; Fred Acker-
man. Utica, n. Y, cut and bruised; Miss
Minnie Mcintyre, Phoenix, cut and
bruised; Stephen Woods, Richmond,
Cal, two arteries in right arm cut;
Stephen Cole. Bisbee, Ariz, cut and
bruised; B. M Ogahey, cut and bruised;
Robert Wells, Cananea, Mexico, cut and
bruised; Susa Petro, limb crushed
Clarence Warrington, engineer No. 3,
badly scalded; C. G. Rogers, Amador,
Cal, cut on head; Max F. Glenn, 5S6
South Figuaroa street, Los Angeles.
limbs crushed; Oscar Nelson,
S. Wood Roseville, Cal. wrist
broken: Thomas S. Davis, Tucson,
Ariz., leg crushed; Emmett Falconer,
Roseville, Cal, cut about head; j. H.
Falconer, Roseville, Cal, arm broken,
injured internally; John Brewer, Los
Angeles, cut and bruised; Ed Giroux,
Florence Roberts Company, cut on arm
L. A Shankland, 1919 Downey avenue,
Los Angeles express messenger, cut on
Jenson, Galveston, Texas, cut and
bruised: G. Gregory, cut on neck; Miss
Elizabeth A. Roche, Phoenix, Ariz., cut
and bruised.
A switching crew had gone on to the
Y leading south from the main line
and a change of crews occurred. The
new crew failed to close the switch.
The overland, nine hours late, was
running forty miles an hour. Realizing
~ hn rln
before the overland reached it, the
dagman ran to the main line, wildly
endeavoring to flag the train, which
was then less than $50 yards distant
ENGINEER SAVES HIMSELF
Seeing an accident must occur, En-
gineer S. L. Warrington reversed his
engine, shut off the oil and, with his
fireman, leaped, both escaping with
slight bruises.
The engine rushed upon the Y, the
sudden jolt tearing it loose from the
train, and as it plunged into a three
foot depression on one side of the
track, one express car tore past IT, one
express and the mail car falling over
the engine and being torn to pieces. A
third express car remained on the
track until abreast of the engine and
toppled to the other side of the track,
fourth express car was jammed in al
most an upright position against it.
The day coach, in which most of the
fatalities occurred. passed between
these wrecks on each side of the track
and remained upon the rails, though
demolished. The top had to be cut
away in sections to recover the bodies.
Three day coaches were derailed and
demolished back OF this chair car. Pull
ms nc CT Cl fr7a on
the main line.
From an express car all the baggage
belonging to the Florence Roberts
theatrical company was taken intac.,
but all the scenery was wrecked.
MAIL CLERK KILLED
The dead were terribly manned and
mangled. Eighteen of them had been
taken to an undertaking establishment
at Cotton by o'clock, and eight addi-
tional bodies could be seen underneath
one OF the overturned and demolished
cars. This car could not be raised until
a derrick was brought from Los An
geles. sixty miles away.
The injured were conveyed to this
city in vehicles of all sorts, and the
Cotton hospital was quickly filled to it's
capacity. Many were then taken to the
Presbyterian church and to private
residences in the vicinity.
George L. Sharp of Muncie, Ind, was
instantly killed. w. A. SHE, mail clerk
on the train, was also killed. A r.
Wilthers of Sacramento cannot live
One of his arms is torn off.
Out OF about eighty Pullman passen-
gers there were but two who sustained
serious injuries. The three Pullman
coaches and the diner, which were or
the rear Of the train, did not leave the
track.
FLORENCE ROBERTS SAFE
The Florence Roberts theatrical com
pany occupied one coach, which was
hurled from the track and both ends
of it crushed in by impact against the
others But two members OF Miss Rob-
erts company. out of a total of twenty
two people, were injured. Gregory
Roberts sustained a scalp wound. Miss
Roberts herself escaped entirely un.
scathed. The escape from death of the
occupants of this car was remarkable
considering the manner in which the
coach was splintered and torn to pieces
The men and women were hurled from
one end Of the car to the other.
The derailment of the train wa:
caused by the crew of a switch engine
leaving a switch open at this point
1t is said that the engine passed
through the switch a few moments