Gainesville daily sun. (Gainesville, Fla.) 190?-1938, 1907-01-22
Is PEOPLE KILLED
IN BIG -FOUR Wreck
Bodies OF Tw-niy of the Vic.
( ms Were Crema ed.
oe-ae FOG CAUSED ACCIDENT
The Engineer OF Passenger Train Was
Unable 20 See Danger Light which
Directed Him to Stop. and Train
Was Running at a 5o.MiIe Rate.

Was Running al a so. Mile Rate.
Indianapolis, Jan. 2l.-A specia. to
the News from Lafayette reports TT
criyed here Indicate that ~ people
were Killed in the wreck 81 Dc Four
passenger engine No. IS, near Fowl.
or carly SATURDAY. twenty OF whom
were crenated.
Those killed.. Il l. said. we're noaHy
all in the c1mb.aa";Jn car. which took
ire and burned.
The sleeping cars turned over.
Owing - the dense fog the engi-
urcr .: BE- Big -Four flyer was unable
10 80, the ieI, on ,hc semaphore
which directed HIN 10 stop as west
bound frei-lt had the right Of way.
The trash Dispatcher. knowing that
the dense fug would prevent the train
men from seeing the block signal.
went outside and waved his lantern
frantica.iy and fired at least half
dozen shots from his revolver. but the
train rushed by. and a moment later
the crash came.
The tender of No. IS telesCoped
the baggage car, the rear end OF the
tender cut through 70 within ten feet
ol The rear OF the smoker.
The from,n Of both trains were
killed instantly. but the engineers es-
capped by jumping.
The report OF the collision was heard
al over the little town and fire bells
and whistles quickly called the people
to tse all of the injured.
Immediately following the crash the
wreckage caught fire and the bodies
were burned before they could be ex-
tricated from the ruins. The heat OF
the burning cars was SD intense that
the would be rescuers could not get
near enough 10 help. The injured
and some Of the dead were taken to
Kankakee. III.
One man was pleading pitcOusly for
aid was pinned under a car scat. lie
was rescued when the flames were
within six feet Of him. Another man
was thrown out Of the window OF the
smoker into a ditch. These were the
only TWO passengers rescued from the
smoker.
The killed includes men, women
and children. and all that could Dc
seen az daybrCak in the morning was
the smou.dering skeletons OF human
bodies and wreckage OF the smoker
and the baggage cars. None OF ths
passengers IN the sl,epers was killed
Coroner COmley has taken charge
and prosecuting attorney Hall Will as
sisi the coroner in making an IN
vestiga ion of the wreck.
The sleeping cars were not destroy
ed by fire, as first reported.
General Superintendent II. u
Houghlon. OF the Big Four, said .nis
information az 10 a. m. was that De-
tween ten and fifteen persons Wefs
killed. while the list Of seriously IN
jured is no, large.
The Indianapolis sleeper" sac
Mr.. Houghton, was the last car oA
the train No person on II was nun
Five injured were taken into t'e
hospital al Kankakee. one OF inc"
died on the way.
"The survivors were put aboard INV
next train for Indianapolis IL y"
necessary TO send this train back
schaH and over the Lake Ere sns
Western and Chicago and Eastern III.
nois to get back 70 the main hns~
indianapolis. Some OF the passenger
wished 10 go back 10 Chicago, anu
were sent there.
We sent a wreck train from Ds's
al o'clock in the morning o~
train from Kankakee was there sne
OF Il. =.
Our information is that NO.
ran past the block al Fowler. PRIV
Div because OF the fog"