Los Angeles herald., 1907-07-21
81 KILLED
IN WRECK
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| (ContInued from Page Onep
the signatures of the freight train crew
attached was secured by officials.
The freight crews left the scene
explained simply that they had tor-
gotten. ,.,o,,,
The collision occurred at 9:13 O'CLOCK
and the freight trains should nave
reached Salem at 9:10 to be Wlthlh
their orders.
Crowded with Excursionists
The excursion train left Ionia CROWDED
| with men, women and children at o CLOCK
| this morning 1t was the annual excur-
sion of the shop men of the road 10 De-
| troit
Every family had its lunch baskets and
MANY of them were eating when the trains
crashed together. .-,..
The impact was terrific and numper
of passengers sitting near the WINDOWS
of the rear end of the unchanged coacnes
were thrown through the windows to the
ground
There was a panic among the occupants
of the coaches for few minutes.
AS the unfortunate people realized that
they had not been hurt they rushed from
the cars to the rescue of their frlenos
and relatives who were among the wreck
age ahead.
Families were scattered among differ
ent cars and there were frenzied search-
ers for missing relatives.
Mothers ran screaming up and down,
searching for their children, while many
of the young people as frantically called
for their parents. S. Dennihy, young
man of Ionia, was in the last coacn,
while his sister was in one OF the middle
coaches and his father and mother were
In one of the most seriously damaged
cars.
Tells of Collision
1--WE felt the jar when the air brakes
were applied" said Mr.. Dennihy, and
then before any one had time to stand UP
or leave his seat came the crash or the
collision.
"In the confusion of the moment I did
NOT realize that the car we were in was
undamaged, and seeking the quickest exit
to the open air. jumped through the
open window to the ground.
"J found nv sister several cars ahead,
uninjured but my mother was stanolng
supported by a couple Of men with her
head and hands covered with blood.
Father was sitting inside the window
of one of the forward cars, his right arm
and shoulder free and leaning out, but his
left hand caught fast where the seats had
damned together in the car. 1t took
jay Eddy, a young man from Ionia,
had a horrifying experience. He was sit
ting In a seat with his mother, and when
he regained his senses after the crash
she lay dead beside him. They were in
the first car
They were in the first car of the train
and young Eddy said that he could see
the freight approaching as the excur-
sion swung around the curve.
Finds Mother Dead
"The next moment the trains came to-
gether with a horrible crash," he said.
"I was soaked with water from the
tender of the engine, which was torn to
pieces.
'The air was full of flying objects and
terrible noises.
"When / regained my senses L was
pinned in the wreck.
At looked around for my mother, and
there she was dead. One of her arms
was cut off and lay a couple of feet
away, and she was horribly mangled.
managed to release myself and dragged
my poor mother out of the wreck"
The shock and horror of Eddy's moth
er's death had driven him nearly frantic,
when he was first noticed by party of
rescuers.
Miss Mamie Speckin of Ionia was sit
ting in the rear of a coach in the middle
of the train.
The shock of the collision threw her
to the floor and piled over her a cover
ing of cushions and loose articles swept
from the forward end. Screaming in her
dark prison and unable to realize what
had occurred the girl remained for some
time pinned in until rescued uninjured.
Jumps from Window
| One of the passengers who jumped from
window of the rear coach after the
collision almost alighted upon Engineer
Alvord of the passenger train, who had
leaped from his engine and sat down
on the bank watch in hand, trying to
learn from it whether any blame for
the mistake which had cost so heavily
rested with him.
| The crash of the colliding trains was
heard for great distance up and down
the tracks and many farmers working
near by, realizing that a tragedy had
occurred, hurried from their homes with
bedding bandages and stimulants.
! They Joined in the rescue work while
physicians hurried to the scene of all
the neighboring towns. Numbers of the
uninjured woman passengers tore strips
from their clothing to help bandage up
the wounds of the suffering persons be-
fore the physicians arrived on the relief
| trains.