Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1907-08-17
TRAIN CREW is INDICTED
Grand Jury Fixes Blame for Terra
Gotta Wreck.
FOUR MEN HELD FOR TRIAL
Henry Hildebrand, Frank Hoffmeier
Ira Mcclellan, and Ralph Rutter
Charged With Neglect.

~ N3'N%1
Washington, August 10.-Four men
were indicted for manslaughter by the
District grand jury as being criminally
responsible for the wreck of December
30, 1906, at Terra Gotta, d. c., on the
Metropolitan branch OF the Baltimore
and Ohio railroad, when "~dead-head''
train No. 2120 crashed into the i'll
fated excursion train No. Sc, killing
forty-three people and injuring sixty
three others.
Those indicted are Henry II. Hide
brand, engineer; Frank Hoffmeier,
conductor; Ira G.. Mcclellan, fireman,
and Ralph Rutter, brakeman, of the
crew of No. 212O, all being charged
with neglect of duty in failing to
watch and obey the block system sig
nails. The men reside in Baltimore.
Hildebrand and Hoffmeier have been
under $4,000 bond since they were
hold by the coroner's jury, January 8,
last. Bench warrants were issued
last night for the arrest of Mcclellan
and Rutter.
The six other men who were held
by the c%oroner's jury as being in some
degree responsible for the wreck were
all exonerated by the grand jury. They
are William M Dudrow, telegraph op-
orator at Silver Spring, the only man
he'd to be directly responsible: Will
liam e. McCauley, assistant division
| operator of. the road; Thomas F. Dent,
train disptcher; John w. Kelly, jr.,
trainmaster; Benjamin L. vermilion,
engineer of No. 66, and George w.
Nagle, conductor of No. &C. Their
bonds will be cancelled today.
Outlines Duty of Crew.
| The indictment covers twenty-five
typewriter pages and is in two
| counts. In the first count is describ-
ed the line of railroad operated on the
Baltimore and Ohio tracks between
Washington and Rockville and it's d.
vision into spaces of various lengths,
known as blocks. The method of op
! Grating the block7signal system and
the duty of the trains crews to OBJ
serve these lights is treated at great
length.
On the night of the wreck, it states,
the block signal stations were in
charge of the servants of the railroad
! company, charged with the duty of
| displaying signals for the guidance
of locomotive engineers and other
persons in charge of approaching
trains. Train No. sc. it continues,
upon which Theodore King, and
many other passengers were travelling
on the eastward track to Washington,
and was in charge of George w. Ma
gle, conductor, and Benjamin L. Yer
million, engineer, reached the signal
station at Takoma, and before the
hour of $50 o'clock received the prop
| er signal of the Takoma signal tower,
and passed into the block beginning
at Takoma and ending at University
station. s
Should Have Watched Signals.
Another train (No. 212O), it is de-
clared, was moving on the same track
and in the direction of Washington,
under the charge of the four defen-
dants, and, it is alleged, under the
rules and regulations of the company,
as they, Hildebrand, Mcclellan, Hoff-
meier and Rutter, well knew, it was
the duty of Hildebrand, a locomotive
engineer, to carefully watch for and
see and obey the signals displayed at
all of the block signal stations for the
government Of the train of cars; and
it was then and there the duty of Nc
Clellan, as fireman, to carefully watch
for and see the signals displayed at
all of the block signal stations for the
government of the train of cars and
to report to Hildebrand, as such loco
motive engineer, and to Hoffmeier, as
conductor, was responsible for the
movement, safety, and proper care OF
the train Of cars, and for the vigilance
and conduct of Hildebrand, as locomo.
tive engineer; of Mcclellan, as fire
man, and of Rutter, as brakeman; and
it was then and there the dutI OF
Hoffmeier, as conductor, to carefully
watch for and see the signals display
ed at all block signal stations for the
government of the train of cars, and
to see that Hldebrand, as locomotive
engineer, obey all such signals; and
it was the duty of Rutter, as brake
man, to carefully watch for and see
the signals displayed on all of the
block signal stations for the govern
ment of the train of cars, and to see