The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-11-18
ONE NEGRO KILLED
 IN FRISCO CRASH Passenger Train Hits Open Switch At Pratt City FLOWS INTO FREIGHT Engineer and Firemamn of Passenger Save Themselves By Jumping.
 Train Moved on In Less
 Than an Hour.

A rear-end collision between Frisco freigt and passenger trains at Pratt City yesterday afternoon resulted in one death, while the quick work of the engineer of the passenger and the intervening of good fortune was all that prevented bad wreck. It was caused by an open switch.
 The dead man is Jim Clark. a negro fagman of the freight train.
 While many of those on the passenger train were shaken up and slightly bruised, none was seriously hurt. James Caldwell, white fiagman on the passenger, sustained the most serious injury, which was a sprained wrist.
 The passenger train was No. 2O6, which left Birmingham at o'clock for Memphis. and was tray cling at a rapid rate. The freight was extra No. 1332 for Amory, Miss. The accident occurred on the sid ing at the Copeland Brick company's plant, about a quarter of a mile east Of the Friscos Pratt City depot.
 The freight pulled into the siding with the passenger but few minutes behind. It is said the freight was slow in getting into the siding and the white fagman was sent back to flag No. 2O6. It ap- pears that he had no red flag and did not succeed in stopping the passenger.
 The freight made it into the siding in na several moments. when the passenger came along The negro fiagman, Jim Clark, did not close the switch, but swung aboard the caboose. and was in it when the collision occurred. There is some dispute as to whose duty it was to throw the switch. It is said that it is the duty of the white fiagman to throw all switches but as he had been sent back to flag the other train that It was the ne- gros duty.
 Immediately upon seeing the open switch Engineer H. c. Snyder reversed his engine and checked the speed greatly before the crash came. After doing all he could to stop his train he and his negro fireman jumped from the left side of the engine. which is the side next to the main line. Had they jumped on tho other side they would have pean buried under the engine, as it toppled over on that side, Both escaped with only few bruises.
 The front end of the mall car next to tho tender was badly smashed, but none of the occupants of the car injured. of the other passenger coaches remained on the track. The heavy engine plowed through the caboose, smashing it and three empty coal cars in front of it into mass of kindling wood, taking up about as much space as half an ordinary car
 The negro Clark was in the caboose and was mashed in with the mass of wood. 1t required several moments to extrfcate him and he lived hardly 10 minutes after being freed. His remains were placed on an- other train and sent to Birmingham.
 No. 1109 was the number of the passen- ger engine, and as 1t smashed through the caboose and coal cars it added it's cow catcher, headlight, front of the boiler and many of it's other parts to the wreckage. The rails of the sidetrack were spread and twisted.
 The Pratt City depot was only few hundred yards away and the operator there notified Birmingham immediately. Another engine and mail car were started from Birmingham almost within five min utes after the collision occurred, while 8 wrecking crew started few moments aft erward.
 An effort was made to transfer the mail from the wrecked car to the other mail coach, but there was so much of it that this would have required several hours, and 1t was decided to send the train on without tho mail car. The pas senger coaches were pulled back on to the main line, the new engine connected and another start made at 2:20. The fact that the train should get under way again in less than an hour after the collision is regarded as remarkable.
 News of the wreck spread rapidly in Birmingham, and several hundred people journeyed out to Pratt City. to look at it, The wrecking crew got to work on it quickly and hardly vestige of the wreck will be left by noon today.