The free lance. (Fredericksburg, Va.) 1885-1926, 1907-01-03

Sixty Others Injured in B. & o.
Crash at Terra Gotta.
oITlFUL SCENES AT MoRGUE

len, Women and Children Tainted
AS Relatives and Friends Were
Identified-The Train Crew Under
Arrest.
Washington. Jan. 1.-The Baltimore
K Ohio wreck at Terra Gotta grows in
,nagniSide as the hours pass. The
most conservative estimate of the dead
is SO. with three scores Of injured in
the hospitals or at their homes suffer
ing from wounds and fractures sus-
tained in the rear-end collision which
completely demolished the two day
coaches and the smoker attached TO
the local Frederick, Md, express, No.
66. Several of the most seriously in
mred are expected 10 die and the death
list may yet reach 90 or more.
List of the Dead.
Fannie Austin. negro, Washington;
Lewis W. Baldwin. East Orange, n. j.;
Ollin l.. Bailey. Newark, o.; Mrs. l.. A.
Barnes. Terra Gotta. ID. c.; DIR. Il. Oil
yer Belt and two sons. Edward, aged z,
and 81. Clair. aged 9, Washington:
Miss Corinne NJ Bohrer. Washington;
Mary A. BOhrer; J. A. and S. l.. Bond,
address unknown; Commodore p.
Brown. Washington; Mrs. Sallie v.
Butts. Washington; Mrs. Mary A. Ca
her: Miss Nellie Cole. York. Pa; Mrs
Frank X. Chase and infant, South
Brookland. ID. c.; Lulu V. Cobb; Nettie
l.. Compiler. Washington; Mrs. May
Cook and infant, Washington; Carrie
Cornwel, Washington; Miss Rosalie
Cross. Washington; Annie Cunlo. 3
years. Washington; Oliver l.. DAILY;
Edward l.. Garrett, Washington; Dr..
E. G.. Harris. Washington; Henry Hig-
bic and 7-year-old son, George. Brook
land. ID. c.; Prof T. j. King, Kensing-
ton. Md. organist Wesleyan church,
Washington; Frederick Leigh, Wash
ington Junction. Md; Mary Lippold,
Brookland. d. c.: A. Lee Lowe, Wash
ington: Theodore Mertz. New York;
J. A. McCaghey. Baltimore; Minnie Is.
Merkling: Thomas Metz, Germantown,
Md: Lucy b. Millican, Deanwood, ID.
C.; Mrs. d. G. Pearman; Miss Reeves,
Takoma, d. c.: Miss Anna w. Reading,
Washington; Elizabeth Reid; Norman
Rogers. Marion, Ind; - Rupert,
Washington: Mabel and Raymond
Sturgeon. Washington; John Wright,
Baltimore. and four unidentified.
Pitlful Scenes at Morgue.
Heartrending and pitiful were the
scenes at the city morgue, where hun
dreds of persons have flOcked to as
sist the police in the identification OF
the dead. Women. girls and even men
with iron nerves shrieked. sobbed and
tainted as their relatives or friends
were found among the 80 corpses
strewn about the floor. Collins, wicker
baskets and winding sheets were found
on all sides. 1t was a day never to be
forgotten.
Officials Of the Baltimore & ONO
railroad are conducting an investiga-
ton of the wreck in Baltimore for the
purpose of placing the responsibility
for the terrible disaster.
General superintendent Todd exon
Grated Milton w. Phillips, the operator
M the Takoma block station. the last
signal station that the equipment tram
passed before crashing into the pas
senger train at Terra Gotta. The su-
perintendent declares that Phillips
was obeying instructions when he
went home at $50 o'clock, leaving the
double green" signal burning. While
making no positive charge, Superin-
tendent Todd intimated that the bur
den of the blame would fall upon the
engineer and crew of the extra. The
five members of the crew, who were
arrested shortly after the accident are
now being held to await the result OF
the official investigation. They are:
Harry III. Hildebrand. engineer; Ira Z.
McClelland. fireman; Frank +. Hoff-
meyer. conductor; Ralph Rutter,
brakeman. and William A. Norris, bag
gagemaster.
Gazing vacantly between the iron
bars of his cell at the police station,
Engineer Hildebrand is too full OF emo
ton to make any definite statement.
1T will all come out at the investga-
tion." he said 81 don't believe that
there is anything for me to say, and |
couldn't say it II there was" Before
he was arrested the engineer made a
statement to the Associated Press, in
which he declared that If the danger
signal light was displayed at Takoma
he failed to see 1t on account OF the
dense fog.
The impetus of the heavy freight
cars behind the engine was SO great
that it simply ground up the coach
which had been struck. Except two
sides of the coach. which were ripped
off. there is not timber used in the
construction of the coach now more
than two feet in length. 1t was twist
ed. splintered and ground into bits so
small that they could have been put
into an ordinary market basket. The
wreckage of the car was so ground up
that It makes a pile OF twisted iron
and wood scarcely as high as a roll
ton desk and not more than seven or
eight feet long.
This coach was filled with men, wo-
men and children. there being hardly
vacant seat. AS the sides were ripped
of the passengers by the force of the
shock were thrown oGt in all direc-
tions. It was here that the greatest
number of killed were found. Of the
80 or more passengers IN the car, only
one woman escaped. She was thrown
some so or more feet from the track.
After blowing through the rear car
the freight telescoped the next tTo
passenger coaches, and swept the e.
tire passenger train along with 1t.
Oh. by the way, have you reserved o
seat on the new water wagon?
About all for the present-thanks.