Albuquerque evening citizen., 1907-01-02
Head on Collision Because
operator Failed TO Hold
One Train.
He FLED At ONCE, BUT
WAS SINCE CAPTURED
Majority of Killed and Injured
Were Mexican LdbOrerS For
the Railway Company.

Topeka. Kan, Jan. Thirty
killed and forty others injured, some
seriously. Is the estimated result OF
one of the most terrible disasters in
the history of the Rock Island rail-
road. which occurred just before
o'clock this morning, about three
miles west of Volland, WabaunZe
county, when westbound train No. 29
and eastbound train No. 80 met in
a head end collision. Most of the
killed are believed to be Mexican la
borers, who were In the smoker of
No. 80. The baggage car skidded
over the smoker and crushed down
through the roof, literally crushing
and smashing out the lives of the men
who were in 1t, the majority Of whom
were asleep. Fire followed immedi-
ately and five cars of No. 29 We're
consumed by the flames. 1t Is like
ly that several bodies were inciner-
ated in these cars. ard 1t will be a
long time before d conplete list of
the number of dead can be ascer-
tanned No. so left FL Paso Monday
night and was due in Chicago tonight.
No. 20 left Chicago at $3.50 Tuesday
morning for El Paso and passed
through here at 10 o'cl. ok last night
From the reports received 1t is evil
dent that No. 20 bore the brunt OF
the disaster, as the cars Cn No. 80
were not damaged to such an extent
as to prevent them being made up
into a train and sent west i'm place of
the destroyed No. 2.
Operator Leaves Dramatic Message.
There is no doubt apparently that
the calamity Is one that must be
charged up to human frailty, and the
blame for it goes onto the unfortun-
ate shoulders os John Lynes, who
was the operator at Volland.
Orders had been issued for No. 20
and No. 80 to pass at Volland. These
orders had been sent to the operator
at Volland. AS No. 20 was running
ahead of No. 80 as far as time goes,
he should have held no. 20 at Vol
land. These We're the last orders
he received and he failed to deliver
them. His whereabouts are unknown,
as he actually fed before the wreck
occurred, and in a rather dramtic
fashion told in a few words of the
impending disaster. About five min
utes before the collision happened
he called up the nearest dispatcher
and wired:
mo 29 has gone, and l have gone
also"
Even with this dispatch at hand,
there was no way to prevent the
wreck. That was the last word from
the operator at Volland, and he has
not since been seen.
No. 20 was known as the Califor-
mia fast mail and No 80 as the Chi
cago fast mail. Both trains were
made up of ten cars each, of all va
rieties-Pullmans, tourist cars, chair
cars, coaches, smokers and baggage
cars-and both trains were heavy
ones.
Several Injured VIII Die.
of the forty injured in the Rock
Island wreck, twelve were seriously
hurt and 1t is feared half of them
will die. The Mexicans killed We're
en- route to El Paso to work on the
Rock Island road. The interpreter
who was with them is among the
killed and II may be difficult to learn
the names of the killed and injured.
HI PasOan Among Injured.
Among the passengers injured in
the Rock Island wreck was II. Suker-
man, of El Paso bruised on head and
body.
Operator Captured and Jailed.
Topeka, Kan, Jan. 2.-Operator
John Lynes, who left No. 2s get by
and caused the Rock Island wreck,
has been captured and will be jailed