Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-10
BLAME CONDUCTOR
FOR TRAIN WRECK
Northwestern Pacific Officials
Probe lgnacio Disaster Which
Caused Twelve Deaths
DlS0BEDIENCE IS CHARGED
Condition of Several Passengers
Taken to San Francisco
Hospitals PreCariOus
ASSOCIATED Press)

ASSOCIATED Press)
SAN RAFAEL, Aug. 9.-Twelve men
are dead and a score are suffering
from painful injuries as the result Of
the collision on the Northwestern Pa
cific railroad last night at Ignacio sta
tion. One death, that of w. B. Bur
ton Of Berkeley, occurred today, and
the condition of several of those In
the hospitals in San Francisco Is pre-
carious.
No new light has been thrown on
the cause OF the accident which Is as
cribed by the railroad officials to the
failure of Conductor George Flaherty
of the work train to obey an order to
hold his train in the yard at Ignacio
until the passenger train from the
south had passed.
The bodies of II. w. Banks and his
brother. w. A. Banks, OF Rockford. Ill,
lie at the morgue in this city. They
met death instantaneously In the
wreck, the skull OF the former being
crushed. They were investment agents
with offices at 205 La Sale street, Chi
cago, and were interested in the sale
of lands in Idaho and California.
DIE WHEN AT LUNCHEON
About ten days ago they came to
this state and were being taken on a
tour of inspection by Colonel e. e.
Holp. Having started from San
Francisco without having partaken of
lunch. they purchased some sand
wiches here and leaving Colonel Holp
in the day coach went into the smoker
to appease their appetite only few
moments before the collision. They
would have escaped injury had they
remained in the day coach.
The seriously injured were taken to
San Francisco late last night and
placed in the Southern Pacific and
Northwestern hospitals.
George Flaherty, conductor of the
freight train, who Is accused by Cen
eral Superintendent W. s. Palmer and
other officials of having violated ex-
press telegraphio instructions to re-
ma 4 in the Ignacio yards until the
passenger had passed, is In state
of collapse today and Is unable to
make statement.
REVISED LIST OF VICTIMS
A revised list of the dead Is as fol-
lows:
E w. BANKS, Rockford. Ill.
w. A. BANKS, Rockford. Ill
HERMAN BOYER, Santa Rosa.
G. CRIVELLONE, San Francisco.
H. w. EMERSON, Petaluma.
N. NIELSEN, Black Point.
p. LEVIN, Santa Rosa.
w. e. POEHLMANN, Petaluma.
GEORGE RILEY, Santa Rosa
T. w. RICHARDSON, Petaluma.
JOHN WILKINSON, San Quentin.
w. r. BURTON, Berkeley.
The injured in the companys revised
list are:
A. w. Agnew, shoe merchant, Peta-
luna, body cut and bruised; w. r.
Bachelor, Petaluma, one rib fractured
and right arm broken; A. c. Durham
1850 Curran street. Los Angeles, Sc
rious internal injuries: Mrs. R. H. Brit
nh
hands; W. ]. Cain, Novato, left leg
broken, face badly cut; John Brooks,
Petaluma, seriously injured; James
Garforth. Novato, both legs crushed;
C. e. Hyatt, fireman, Sausalito, legs
injured; Mrs. Harry L. Hall, santa
Rosa, bruised; Ernest Laverit. news,
boy, San Francisco, serious Internal
injuries; e. l.. Lyttaker, engineer.
Sausalito fracture of left leg and In
iuries abeut the head, will prove fatal;
e. Lavoeran, STA Broadway, San fran
cisco, b>dy bruised, face and hands
cut; DR.. < H. Mcleod, Santa Rosa,
internal lnydries; John Page, Wells
Fargo messenger Santa Rosa, face ana
body cut and bruised; e. B. Preston,
san Francisco, slightly injured; George
REYNOLDS, engineer, Sausalito, inter-
nally injured, fingers crushed; Bert
Speaker, fireman, Sausalito, hands
burned and face cut and scalded; FREQ
Savage Cotati, internal injuries, oruis-
cd about the face; H. V. Stuffy, Los
Angeles, bone in left leg broken; Ernest
Stanberger, clerk, Santa Rosa, slightly
injured about face and arms; captain
r q. Van Tagen of Schooner Ala
media, internally injured and badly cut
about face; E. o. Van Pelt, SSli Soutn
Olive street, Los Angeles. both legs
and both arms broken; j. w. Watsoh'
Santa Rosa, slightly injured.
CRASH ON REVERSE CURVE
The work train consisted of caboose
and two fiat cars. Coming down on a
branch from the Santa Rosa valley 1t
was switched to the main line here and
continued toward Sausalito, whence the
passenger train was speeding toward
Santa Rosa Two miles south of Ig-
nacio, on the reverse curve, the trains
crashed together. Shunting the engine
of the passenger aside, the work train
plunged into the baggage and smoking
cars, completely telescoping them. The
other cars were undamaged and their
occupants escaped with a vigorous
shaking up.
Frightful havoc was done in the
smoker Passengers scrambling out or
the rear cars and running forward be-
held a fearful spectacle. The headless
trunk of a man lay beside the track
and from windows of the smoker pro-
truded the lifeless bodies of two others.
The baggage car sprawled like husk
atop the smoker, partly enveloping 1T,
but through the windows the rescue
party could see the shrleking injured
and the silent dead pinned under over
turned seats. For hours it was impos-
sible for those without to reach them.
Frank A. Myers of Petaluma ran to
Ignacio to summon aid. Wrecking
rains were sent for, and physicians
and nurses from various points up and
down the line hurried to the scene on
special trains and in automobiles.