Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1908-07-24
Cars IN COLLISION;
40 PERSONS INJURED
TWO iNTERURsAN TRAINS MEET
HEAD-oN AT A CURVE AT
LovEDALE, ILL.,.
VEHICLES TELESCOPE
AND THEN TAKE FIRE
Suffering Passengers Are Dragged to
Places Of Safety-Both Motormen
Jump instant Before Crash Comes
People in a Panic.

Lovedale, ILL.,, July 22.-Forty per-
sons were injured, some of them prob
ably fatally, and more than dozen
so severely that they had to be taken
to hospitals Tuesday in head-on col
lision between two Aurora, Elgin &
Chicago cars at Lovedale station. The
disaster occurred when the coaches
were each running at speed estimat-
ed at 40 miles an hour and the crash
when they came together was terrific.
The two cars were telescoped, the
wood in them smashed to splinters,
iron twisted and gnarled out of all
semblance to its original shape and
seats thrown yards away. Passen-s
gers, among whom were nearly SO
women, were thrown through windows
and tossed to the side of the tracks
several feet away. Just after the
wreck occurred the cars caught fire
from the trolley wire and began to
smolder, but the uninjured passengers
soon put out the blaze with water
from a nearby rivulet and dragged
the wounded to places of safety. From
there the injured were taken to Aurora
and nearby farm houses in automo-
biles and farmers wagons.
Motorman Plunges Ahead.
Lovedale station, where the wreck
occurred, is on the banks of Spring
creek, between Elgin and Aurora. The
line at this point is a single track one
and although it is part of the third
rail system, trolley power is used upon
1t. At Lovedale station Is a switch.
Here, according to officials of the road
4 southbound car from Elgin in charge
of Motorman S. Bell was supposed to
stop and walt until a northbound car
from Aurora passed 1t. Instead OF
stopping his car, which carried from 81
to 100 passengers, Motorman Bell went
ahead. He started down ten per
cent grade around curve at the regu'
lation speed of 40 miles an hour, think.
Ing, he says, that he had clear track.
Just as he neared the bottom of the
grade and swung around the curve
north-bound coach on the way from
Aurora to Elgin came in sight. 1t also
carried from so to 100 passengers and
was running at the same rate of speed
rs the southbound coach. The motor
men of the two cars both turned or
the air brakes, but they did not appear
to have worked Immediately and al
the last minute, seeing that the col
lision could not be averted, both Of
them jumped, rolling over and oyel
the pank, but escaping Will
slight injuries.
Passengers Rush for Doors.
Passengers on the two cars saw thu
danger just before the motormer
Jumped. There was general rusf
for the rear doors, which man.
reached before the cars came together
and leaped through. Those who dit
80 got off with only a few bruises
Others on the cars. including almos
all of the women, had not escaped
when they smashed into each othe
with crash that could be heard
great distance away. Those who wer'
not in the jam around the door wer'
tossed on every side. Many wer'
thrown from the windows and thu
others jammed together in a mass a
the rear end of the cars. In the con
fused mass around the doors man!
were injured by being thrown agains
each other.