The Paducah evening sun. [volume] (Paducah, Ky.) 1906-1929, 1907-09-21

Two were killed and three badly
Injured by an Illinois Central wreck
one mile south OF Fulton at 1910
O'Clock this morning. when Engine
No. g544, pulling the fast Memphis
and Louisville passenger train. No
1914, split the rails and turned over.
The train. IN charge Of Engineer
Patrick Grogan. OF this city. and Fire
man Robert A. Robertson, OF Padu-
cab, and Conductor Baker. OF Louis
Vile. was running on schedule time
entering the Fulton south yards. II
had Just pulled over short MI
which is slightly curved. and was run
ming within the yard limit, ? miles
an hour. when suddenly the big driv-
ers left the rails and settled on the
cross ties. The engine turned over,
catching Engineer Grogan and Fire
man Robertson underneath and
crushing the life out OF them Instant
~.
The coupling Of the mail car broke
but the car dived on the tracks and
ran into an embankment In the mail
ear were s. 4. Cross. white OF Mem
phis. and j. 7. Johnson. colored. OF
Memphis. both mail clerks Johnson
was hurled from one end OF the car
TO the other when II struck the en-
hankment. and his skull was tract
ured and HIS left arm broken. Cross
was hurled against the coach end but
sustained bruises OF a severe nature
The baggage coach left the rails
but kept straight and no one in II
was injured. other coaches, inemd-
ing the smoker. chair car and two
sleepers. remained intact, and but
for sudden stopping. passengers
we're unaware until they left the
coach, that wreck had occurred.
John Freely. an 1s-year-old negro
hoy. was found running about frant-
ically holding his head in his hands
lie was bloody from head TO foot. and
although badly Injured talked CO.
herently. He stated that he was
stealing a ride on the blinds of the
mail car, when the engine left the
track. He was thrown on when the
mail car dived into the embankment,
and the fact that he was hurled
away from the cars saved his life.
MIR. Higgins Witnesses Scene.
Mr. w. r. Higgins, of St. Louis,
secretary OF the Higgins Leather COM
pany, was a passenger on the train
He told in detail the story of the
wreck.
I'VE we're not running over ~
miles an hour" he stated, when the
cars came to sudden halt. My first
thought was of a wreck. snd instinc-
lively drawing out my watch noted
Il was 1910 O'Clock. before | sur
veyed the wrecked engine. | would
give as the cause OF the wreck the
splitting OF the switch by the engine
The tracks showed no sign of having
split but the drivers did, and were
buckled hard. the engine lying on the
top side OF her boiler, stripped OF
most of her machinery. The tank did
not turn completely over. but lay on
its side. and from under It could be
seen the legs of Fireman Robertson
and part of Engineer Grogaq's body
They lay head TO head with their feet
extending in opposite directions, and
from these facts | would say they
we're caught before they had time TO
jump. 1t appeared that both were
on the same side OF the engine when
the derailment occurred.
work OF clearing the wreck be
gan Immediately. a wrecking crew
being called from Fulton. The tank
was lacked up and the bodies recov-
cred. They we're crushed beyond
recognition. 1t was impossible to do
anything with the engine, and the
mail car was also badly damaged
The wounded were cared for by ply.
slcians dispatched from Fulton, and
johnson. the negro mail clerk, was
sent home to Memphis. The negro
tramp was taken to the city and
cared for. His escape from instant
death can be attributed to the fact
that he was hurled away from the
engine and mail car when the jolt