The Montgomery advertiser., 1907-07-10
BAD WRECK AT WHISTLER Two Engines Crash To-
 gether. THOMAS DEASE WAS KILLED Accident Was Caused by Injury to
 Engineer. struck Down in Cab By Mail Frame, And UnbridIed Locomotive
 Dashed HeadIong Into an
 Occupied switch.
.H0MAS DEASE WAS KILLED

head-on collision of the north bound passenger train on the Mobile and Ohio and an engine at Whistler this morning, Engineer Thomas Dease was killed, and two men were injured. one of them quite seriously.
 The following are the injuredI
 Ben Evans; fireman on engine IFS. right leg broken; right foot crushed. and body larcerated.
 l.. G. Murray. mail clerk on north bound train, back wrenched and body lacerated.'
 The. train, and engine met on the north switch of the Mobile and Ohio at Whistler at T.2s o'clock this morn ing. The fireman. Ben J. Evans. says that when they were approaching Whistler he noticed that the speed was not slackened. and climbed to the en- gineer's side of the engine to see what the matter might be. Here he found Engineer Dease lying by his seat un- side of the head.f It looked as if he had been struck by mail frame. the accident happening somewhere be- tween Mobile and whistler.
 Not Able to Slow.
 Engineer Dease being unable to han de his engine. 1t had dashed on ahead until the fireman saw the trouble aud tried to slow down in time for the north switch. This he was not able to do, and the rapidly y-moving train crashed into engine 237. standing on the switch. The single engine was hurled to the right side of the track. the train engine falling to the left. and the express car being almost com pleteiy telescoped.
 Expressman Casey. inside the tele- xuxtt fVaf lar zf however, though the mail clerk on the north bound train, l.. c. Murray, negro. was injured painfully in the back and his body was considerably iacerated.
 Engine 237. which was going north to Meridian as first No. 6, had pulled up beyond the staticn and stopped. The engineer. Mafshall Raskins left his engine and went intoA the ofEics 70 get orders, It wuN while here that he ne- ticed second No, 6 coming on ak Q terrific speed; running out to see what could be the trouble he saw the train go speeding past and strike his engine full in the rear Fireman Charles Cole, negro, who was firing engine 2S7, says that he saw the oncoming passenger train. and seeing that 1t was not going to stop, he pulled his throttle wide open SO that he could run up the track out of the switch ahead of the passeng- CT. He was not able to do this. how ever. and was struck full in the rear. the impetus sending his engine about three hundred yards farther up the track, smashing the cab and deraiiing the tender of, the engine. The fireman jumped just before the impact ..
 One of the passengers. T. N. Lakin. of Deer Park, who was going north out of Mobile to his home. about thirty five miles north of the city. was stand ing in the rear of the train at the time they were approaching Whistler. He saws that he saw they were not slow ing down as was the custom at Whist~ Ter. and he went inside the coach. go- ing forward. Just as he reached the forward part of the coach the collision came, and he was hurled against the smoking compartment. his shoulder be- ing badly bruised. Other passengers were thrown out Of their seats put none was hurt by the impact.
 struck by Mall Frame.
 Conductor Mckinley, in charge of the northbound passenger train, second No 6. in speaking of the wreck, states that his engineer must have been struck by a mail frame too close to the tracks sonoewhere between Mobile and Whist Ter. He noticed as the train approach ed the switch at Whistler that there was no slowing down, and went for ward to learn what was the matter . He had not advanced far when the crash came, and he was thrown to one side by the sudden stop. Beyond this he was able to say nothing. save thai his engineer was one or the most care full on the road.
 Engineer Dease was very seriously injured, his head being terribly gfshec hv the contact with the mail frame supposedly, and his face and hands were scalded at the time of the wreck He died shortly after reaching Mobile
 A special train. made up of an en- zine and one coach. bearing those in jured in the wreck, arrived at the union depot at $40. Dr. Rhett Goode Chief Surgeon of the M. & O.. had beer notified and was at the depot when the train pulled in. The city ambulance tr charge of Steward Jack Dair was also on the scene ready to carry the in iured men to hospitals or to theiI homes. Quite a crowd had gathered at the depot and pressed forward eagerly as the trainmen were borne from the coach on stretchers and taken to the waiting ambulances in whicf they were carried to their homes after being temporarily bandaged up.
 Negro Fireman Game.
 The injured negro nreHlan l1y on cot under the train shed for some lit tie time until an ambulance came tC get him He said he jumped as soor as he saw the train would not stop and knew nothing of what happened to hi' engineer. His left foot and leg were cut but not seriously. Begrimed as h' was with ashes and cinders, the stal- wart darky grinned as he reckonec he better not talk too much bout di' ere thing"
 The engineers hat was found later at Prichard Station. showing that h' had been injured at that place. Wher the collision came he was pinned be- meath his engine which had turned completely on its side down an em bankment and 1t was some time befor' his body could be extricated rom thC engine.