The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-07-05
Flying Limited Crashes
Into Freightat Mid
dletown, Ohio.
ACCIDENT TAKES
PLACE ON CURVE
Blame for Disaster Is Placed on
misunderstanding Of Orders by
+ Engineer of Freight-crash
Is Terrific, and Trains Are
Literally Torn to
Pieces.

DIiddIetown, o., July 4.-Nineteen per-
bona were killed outright, three prob
ably fntnIIy hurt and hnlf dozen were
seriously injured in n hend-on collision
between n freight aud passenger trnin
ON the Cincinnnti, Hamilton and Day
ton Railroad here to-day. OF the Killed
eighteen were passengers, the other
victim being member of the pnssen-
ger train crew.
Nearly all tile dead and injured were
from various parts of Ohio. Southern
people injured were:
James l.. II. KENNEDY. Louisville
Ky. right leg and ribs broken
W. S. Erskine. Of Memphis. Tenn,
back injured. seriously hurt
Will Litzey. Harrodsburg. KY, badly
burned condition doubtful
Al Dayton. Latonia. KY. condition
serious
Frank Edwards, Latonia, KY.
.rhe trains were the Cincinnati sec
tion of the twentieth Century Limited,
on The Cleveland, Cincinnati, Chicago
and ST. Louis Railroad Chg Four), and
the second section of freight train
on the Cincinnati. Hamilton and Day
ten Road.
The latter was attempting to make
siding 10 give the passenger tram
clear track when the flying Limited,
travelling nifty miles an hour. hasheu
around a curve and crashed into IL.
The big Four train had been de-
teued to avoid blocked track on
that road at Genoa. a few miles south
OF here. caused .by a freight wreck
earlier In the day.
orders misunderstood.
z ~, 80 ssrs,ansifng OF orders caused
tie disaster. which was one OF the
worst shat this section of the country
has ever experienced.
PlIo, Engineer George WaId had re-
cetved orders to wait at Post Town, a
siding station three miles north OF
this city, according TO railroad officers.
The freight train was to have passed
him there. but was late in pulling out
OF Middletown. Instead of the seven
minutes. margin, which Wald thought
he had TO reach Middletown. the time
was less than five minutes. The first
section of the freight train had taken
the siding here and Conductor John
Weaver in charge of the second sec
tion, tried 10 reach the north end OF
the siding.
Before his train had cleared the
switch points, the passenger train
rounded curve screened by the thick
ly wooded lots on each side OF the
track The engine crews had time to
jump. and all escaped serious injury.
The crash when the trains met was
terrific. The freight was made up of
gondola cars. fiat cars and box cars
loaded with lumber.
nIrectly hehind the passenger loco
motive and the tender was combina-
tion baggage and smoking car fol-
lowed by a day coach and chair car
All the dead and injured were in the
first two ears, there being six passen-
gers in the smoker and twenty-one In
the day coach.
The engines locked into a mesh OF
smashed steel and iron. the heavy pas.
senger locomotive telescoping It's
smaller fellow as far as the cab. Firs
In the freight train was steel car ant
q box car loaded with siX-inch tim.
bers.
Down Embnnkmcnt.
The heavy gond9la car ripped the
door out of the combination car ant
tossed 1t and the locomotive tende:
down ten-foot embankment into q
corn field.
The timbers in the car following
were driven with terrific force intt
the day coach, which mounted tn,
gondola car and split 1t in twain.
Every seat in this coach was tori
from its fastenings. the roof wa:
thrown to one side and the heav.
weight of massive timbeEs hurled witt
hwful force. struck among the mer
and women In the coach. Even befor,
the crash came rescuing parties wer,
running to the wreck from the Middle
ton station of the Cincinnati Ham
ilton and Dayton. some three hundred
yards south of the accident.
Every surgeon in town was sum
moned to the place. and calls for as
sistance were sent to Dayton and Ham
alton.
Relief trains were made up at eacl
of these places and the injured wer
placed upon them and sent to hospital
In those cities.
Coroner j. A. Burnett was summone
from Hamilton and Immediately bega,
an inquiry into the cause of the wreck