Los Angeles herald., 1910-12-06
HOLDS THROTTLE;
AVERTS TRAGEDY
Panic Stricken Engineer Leaps
from Limited-Many In
iured in Collision

Panic stricken at the sight of San
ia Fe freight train moving slowly to-
ward him as his engine swung around
a short curve north of VictorVille sta
ton, seven miles east Of San Bernar-
dino, at 1850 yesterday afternoon, w.
p. Ell, engineer of the Los Angeles
Limited on the Salt Lake road, leaped
from his cab.
The engineer of the Santa Fe freight
train, with unusual presence of mind,
reversed his engine and sought to back
away and avert a collision. But the
momentum of the onrushing limited
had not been stayed and there was no
one at the throttle to check its speed.
1t struck the freight engine. The i'm
pact knocked the freight engine back
some distance and an instant later
there was a second collision. Probably
a score of passengers were injured,
none seriously.
Only the presence of mind of the
engineer on the freight averted ira
gedy. His action lessened the shock.
ELS left leg was broken and he suf-
fered internal injuries. He was
brought to Los Angeles last night, ar
irving at 1880 and removed to the Cali
fornia hospital.
Mrs. A. w. Davis, wife of a promi-
nent physician of Anderson, Ind, was
cut and bruised about the head and
was removed in a cab on her arrival
in Los Angeles early last night to a
private sanitarium. The exact extent
of the woman's injuries is not known.
Miss G. E. Thompson, pretty young
woman from the east, was cut by fly
ing glass and was taken to the Hotel
Leighton in this city. Miss Thompson
says she was reading at the time of
the collision. She felt heavy jar
which threw her from her seat into
the aisle. She was about to regain her
feet when another jar threw her to
the floor She says the utmost con-
fusion prevailed, many of the women
fainting.
HURLED FROM SEATS
Mrs. w. L. Kellog. with her two chill
dren, one 20 months old, the other,
1 month old, was thrown from her seat
with her babies in her arms at the
first jolt of the train. She shielded
the children from the flying glass and
from being tramped on by covering
them with -er body. Mrs. kelly was not
injured. She lives at 3119 Hobart
George B. Lodt of Denver was cut
by flying glass and bruised.
Mrs. H. B. Mcclellan, an aged wo-
man, was hurled from her seat into
the aisle of one of the rear coaches
and bruised.
The diner and tourist coaches were
partially telescoped and badly dam
aged. These cars had few persons in
them and these were seated at the
rear end It was in these cars, how
ever, that those injured were seated
at the time of the accident.
Those who were in the accident say
there were two distinct collisions. a
rare occurrence in railroad wrecks. The
limited struck the freight engine,
knocked it away, and then. gaining
momentum, struck it again The freight
engineer, clinging desperately to the
throttle. sought to get away from the
tnrushing passenger engine, until
thrown from his cab into pile of
wreckage by the second shock. He was
unintlred it is said.
The crew of the limited blame the
freight men for being on the main
line at the time. The freight men
anne the engineer of the limited for
not sticking to his post and bringing
his train to a stop.
When the limited arrived in Les
Angeles last night there was an anx
ious crowd of relatives and friends of
the passengers to meet it, Mrs. w. p.
Ell. the wife of the engineer, and her
son, were hysterical as the engineer
was lifted from the baggage car and
carried to an ambulance.