Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-07-21
Was a Holiday Crowd.

w dS hOl1Qdy STOWO.
The excursion train left Ionia, crowded
with men. women and children, at O'Clock
this morning. 1t was the annual excursion
of the shop men Of the Pere Marquette
railway to Detroit. Every family had its
lunch basket and many of them were
eating when the two trains crashed to-
gether The impact was terrific and a
number of passengers sitting near the
windows Of the rear, undamaged coach
were thrown out the windows to the
ground. There was panic among the
uninjured in the coaches for a few minutes
Then, as the unin jured people realized tina (
they had not been hurt. they rushed from
the cars to the rescue of their friends and
relatives who were pnioned among the
wreckage ahead of it. Families were scat
tered among different cars and there were
frenZied searches for missing relatives.
Mothers ran screaming up and down.
searching for their children, while many of
the young people were as franticaily calling
for their parents. S. Dennehy, young man
of Ionia, was in the last coach, while his
sister was in one of the middle coaches and
his father and mother were in one of the
most seriousl:' damaged cars.
We felt thr jar when the airbrakes were
applied" said Mr. Dennehy, and then. be-
fore any one had time to stand up leave
his seat. came the crash of the collision.
In the confusion of the moment l did not
realize that the car that l was in was I'M
damaged, and seeking the quickest exit to
the open air. jumped through the window
to the ground. l found my sister several
cars ahead uninjured, but my mother was
standing supported by a couple of men,
with her head and her hands covered with
blood Father was sitting inside the win
dow of one of the forward cars. his right
arm and shoulder free and leaning outside
the window. but his left hand caught fast
WHO the seats had damned together in the
car. 1t took three or four minutes to get
him free"
Saw Mother Dead.
Jay Eddy, a twenty year-old young man
from Ionia. had most dreadful experience.
He was sitting in seat with his mother.
and when he regained his senses after the
crash she lay dead beside him. They were
in the first car of the train. and young
Eddy said that he could see the freight an
preaching the excursion train swung
around the curve next moment the
trains came together with n horrible
crash he said Il 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 | re-
gained my senses l was pinned in the
wreck. l looked around for my mother
and there she was dead. One of her arms
vas cut off and lay couple of feet away,
and she was horribly mangled. I managed
to release myself and drag my poor mother
out of the wreck Eddy pulled his moth
er's body to the bank of the ditch. where he
covered it with an open umbrella The
shock and horror of his mothers death had
driven him nearly frantic when he was
first noticed by party of rescuers.
First Aid Rendered
Miss Mamie Spreckin of Ionia was sitting
in the rear Of coach in the middle of the
train. The shock of the coils on threw her
to the floor. and pied over her a covering
of cushions and loose articles swept from
the forward end Screaming in her dark
prison and unable to realize what lad &C.
CURED the girl remained for some time
Continued on Sixth Page)