Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1907-07-21
Horrible Disaster OVertakes ExcuP.
Sion Train on a Psre MaPqutte
Road IN Michigan
TWO TRAINS BANG INTO EACH OTHER
More Than Three Score and Ten Are
Injured and Some of Them viii
Probably Dle-Passenscr Coaches
Filled With People on Their Annual
Outing.
(By Associated Press


SALEM, MICH, July 20-Thirty
people are dead and more than sew
enty injured, many of them seriously.
as the result of a head.on collision
today between this village and ply
mouth, when Pere Marquette ex-
cursion train bound from lonia to De
troit crashed into west-bound freight
in cut located at sharp curve or
the Pere Marquette railroad about
mile east of Salem.
Following is the list of dead. all OF
whom. with single exception, lived
in lonia: Homer Smith. boy: AL
bert Trautwinc, John Tafel. Charles
Hess, Herman Hess, Paul Hess. vii
liam Cornell. Don Rogers, Lowell
Mich: Dick Jones, Mrs Abraham
Eddy. Edward Gallagher Frank Douse
l.. X. Merrell, llIdnry Reynolds. n
Perc Marquette, engineer; Charles
M'Cauley, ST.; AL. +. Herbert. Edward
Durling. Charles Broad, James Wizard
Willard Stager, William Grams, Will
lam Colt. Mrs August Richter. Fred
Fitzgerald. brakeman Ed. Corwan.
Fireman Knowles and four unidenti-
fled bodies.
Charles Herman and Paul Hess
We're brothers, James Wizard was a
well known minor league ball player,
who had played In the Central League
and also mt Omaha. Willard Stager
had come to Ionia recently from Kan
sas City where his mother now lives.
Edward Gallagher is the son OF an
ex-mayor OF Ionia. Henry Reynolds
was Pere Marquette engineer bound
for Detroit on the excursion train to
take out his regular run.
The passenger train of eleven cars
carrying the Pere Marquette shop en-
ployes of lonia and their families To
the Michigan metropolis for their an
nual excursion. was running at high
speed probably so miles an hour
down steep grade. 1t struck the
lighter locomotive of the freight train
with such terrific force as to turn the
freight engine completely around
The wrecked locomotives this af
ternoon lay side by side. both headed
eastward Only n few of the freight
trains cars were smashed and it was
only few hours work to remove all
traces OF them from the scene. But
behind tho two wrecked locomotives
six cars of the passenger train re-
manned on the track unchanged and
were used to convey the dead and in
iured to lona one coach was entire
ly unchanged with only its forward
trucks off the rails.
Peculiar Position Of Cars.
These were tho rear five cars. The
two coaches next ahead of those
were telescoped The next car for
ward stood almost on end after the
wreck its forward end resting on the
roadbed and the rar end high in the
air upon the two telescoped coaches
that had been following it.. Two
coaches were thrown crosswise OF
the track and lay suspended from
bank to bank of the cut five or six
feet above the rails. or the baggage
car not enough remained to show
where 1t had been tossed. Portions
of the baggage car and of the locomo
tive tender and freight cars were
piled In an Indescribable mass OF de-
bris.
The 2S dead bodies first taken from
the wreck were shipped to Iona and
the injured were placed on two trains.
one of which headed for Detroit and
the other for Ionia. There were about
35 injured people on each train.
Death List a Long One.
Later in the day the body OF Ed.
Corwan, the head brakeman of the
passenger train WIS iiNcH lIOill the
wreck.
Fireman Knowles died on the relief
train en- route to Detroit. bringing the
lst of dead to thirty with POSSIBLE
ity that more bodies might be found
in the wreckage and that several of
the injured may die.
Responsibility Is placed squarely
upon the crew of the freight train by
officials of the road. The officials
who arrived at the scene of the wreck
son after the accident secured from
the freight the orders under which 1t
was running and which clearly showed
the position OF the passenger excur-
sion train and that the freight had
encroached upon the other trains run
ming time. The SPECIAL train was due
at Salem at $40 n. m. and at Ply
mouth at 800 a. m. 1t passed Salem
on time. The time car dof the spe-
cal was telegraphod to the freight
crew in the form OF train order and
this order with the signature of the