The Washington herald., 1908-02-24
SIX KILLED BY TRAIN
Locomotive Going so Miles
an Hour Hits Carryall.
VICTIMS COME FROM PARTY
Boys and Girls Meet Death as They
Ride Home from Dance After Inter
county COntest-Wounded Taken to
New York HospitaI-VehicIe Was
Three-seated Anair.

New York. Feb "a carryall con-
tanning five men and four women who
were on their way home to Spring Valley,
after having attended basketball game
in Nyack, was hit by the Ontario and
Western Mountain Express at the West
Nyack crossing early this morning.
Four of the party were killed outright,
and two died later.
The other three are in the North Hud-
son hospital In Weehawken and it is
likely that at least one Of them will die.
The dead are: George Reith, twenty
nine. manager of the Valley Spring basket
ball team. who was also the manager Of
the local telephone company; Bertha and
Edith Singer. sisters. who were eighteen
and twenty years old respectively, and
the daughters of Leonard Singer. a stone
mason; jeanette Palmer, twenty years
old. the daughter of F. B. Palmer. the
Valley Spring druggist: George Slim.
thirty-fve years old. carpenter. and a
member OF the basketball team. and
Nelson May. twenty-five years old. the
driver Of the vehicle.
The Injured.
The injured are Warren Palmer. twenty
three years old. whose sister was killed:
Henry Dieterlein, twenty-four years old.
a shipping clerk for a New York wine
house, and Edith Bird. daughter Of Mrs.
Washington Bird. a widow
Both Palmer and DieterIein were men,
bers of the team which had met the
Nyack team. Dieterlein is the most seri-
ously injured. His spine is affected and
he is also suffering from internal injuries.
Miss Bird has one of her arms broken,
and both she and Palmer sustained in
ternal injuries.
The carryall. with its party Of eight
and the driver, left the Nyack Opera
House a few minutes after midnight. The
Valley Spring boys had been beaten in
the intercounty contest. % to 8, but there
had been dance in the opera house
after the game. and all of the Valley
Spring folk had forgotten the defeat in
the good time that followed. There was
a second stage load Of Valley Spring
rooters. but that one didn't leave until
about fifteen minutes after the Inflated
carryall, and the occupants Of it were
all men.
Carryau Side-seatcd.
The esrryall was one of those side
seated affairs. Bertha Singer. Reith. the
manager of the team, and the driver sat
in front. The others sat three on each
side Heavy cloth curtains buttonad az
the bottom closed in the sides and the
rear.
The Nyack turnpike crosses the West
Shore road. over which the Ontario and
Western runs its trains from Cornwall.
within fifty feet of the West Nyack sta
ton. The travel on the turnpike is
heavy, and a fagman is always stationed
at the crossing, which is further pro-
tected by gates.
Conrad Kaufman was the flagman on
duty. According to the statement which
he made to the coroner after the accident.
he had lowered the gates, as was his
custom, shortly before u o'clock. He had
seated himself in the flag station then
and eaten his lunch. After that he went
over 10 the station to fix the fire. which
was part Of his regular night duty. IT
was while he was in the station. poklng
the fire. that he heard the train rush
past the station. and then the crash as it
hit the vehicle.
Is Through Train.
The Mountain Express is one OF the
Ontario and Westerns through trains. 1t
was due at West Nyaek, south-bound. at
ssO6 o'clock. but It was 12:4O when it came
through.
Railroad men estimated that it was
making between sixty and sixty-fve
miles an hour when it hit the car wall.