Norwich bulletin., 1911-08-14
Three Engines
Piled in Heap
CHICAGO FLYER LEAVES IRON AT
FORT WAYNE.
FOUR KILLED. 80 INJURED
Two Engines on Passenger Train
Sideswfped Freisht-Severa of the
Injured Not Expected to Live.

Fort Wayne, Ind, Aug. 13.-F'our per-
sons were killed and thirty injured
>when the Pennsylvania. Is hour train,
en- route from Chicago to New York
jumped the track on the western out
skirts of the city at $50 o'clock this
evening, while going at the rate of
fifty miles an hour.
Three Engines in Heap.
In leaving the rails the two engines
pulling the passenger train side
swiped a freight engine and the three
piled up in mass of bent and twisted
iron.
Several Cars Dtched.
The baggage car, smoker, buffet and
two sleepers turned over in the dith.
Most of the injured were seated in the
diner and smoker when the accident
occurred.
Four or Five More Will Die.
The wreekage has not been cleared,
and the list of dead may be more than
the number reported. The thirty or
more injured are in the hospitals, and
it is believed that at least four or five
will die.
The following are the persons killed:
Engineer, believed to be Berger, bur-
led under wreckage.
Peter Malone, Fort Wayne, engineer
w. creigh, Fort Wayne, fireman on
flyer.
Unknown passenger at st. Joseph's
The Injured.
Among the injured at ST. Joseph's s
hospital are:
Ed Cohn, New York city, left eye
injured.
: L. B. Havens, aviator, New York
city, hands and arms cut.
j. E. Sullivan, New York city, legs
crushed.
P. J. Doe, New York city, leg and
head bruised.
w. H. Crawford, Philadelphia, cut
James e. Sullivan, New York city,
internal injuries.
William e. Arrick, freight engineer,
Fort Wayne.
Tracks Torn Up 200 Yards.
The police department, fire depart
ment and every ambulance in the city
were called to the scene of the accident
and the injured Wsre soon taken to
hospitals. The tracks were torn up
engines of the flyer were torn from
their trucks and thrown down the en-
bankment. while the engine of the
freight reared up over the trucks of
the flyers engine.
Escaped With Cuts and Bruises.
Passengers in the seven rear cars
escaped with only outs and bruises.
Chicago Mans Story.
c. C. Hattell of Chicago was in ths
dining car when the accident occurred.
He escaped with only slight injuries to
his head and face.
The train was running at terrific
rate of speed" he declared. The first
intimation I had that anything was
rTrn- oil 70 no. caY1c \
the dining car were thrown headlong
the entire length of the car. The next
thing realized then men were fighting
like beasts to get out of the car and
the steam escaping from the kitchen
was choking us. Another man and 1
the semi darkness and among the
screaming passengers to a window,
through which we made our escape"
An Eye Witness of Accident.
Charles P. Skillman, who resides di-
rectly across from the spot where the
wreck occurred, saw the whole thing
as he was sitting on his veranda at nc
time
The train, which was double head
ed said Mr.. Skil17nan, was coming
at terrific speed Just across the
bridge which spans the st. Marys
river the train veered into new
switch placed there because of the
track elevation work. l guess the train
was going at too great a. rate for the
switch to stand the strain, for it seem
ed to me as though the rails of the
switch just slid from under the train
directly over to the freight standing on
the north track
Crash Was Terrific.
"The crash was simply terrific. For
the first five minutes after the three
engines struck there was comparative
silence. Then came the sound of es-
Gaping steam, the crash of the two
first passenger cars as tn eysiid down
the enbankment into .Swinney park
and the screams of the passengers"
Most of the injured were seated N
the diner and smoker when the acci-
dent occurred.
Steel Cars Saved Lives.
Passengers on the seven rear cars
escaped with only cuts and bruises,
whereas it is declared by railroad men
if the cars had been of the old fash
toned wooden kind the carnage would
have been frigl1tful The steel cars
were put to the test of the actull
wreck they have ever undergone AMI
proved to be all that had been claimed
for them by their designers. Only the
first two cars of the heavy nine-car
train were much smashed.
High Speed Over Temporary Switch.
Thirty more passengers who are bad
ly bruised and cut are at the Anthony
hotel. Several of the injured at a late
hour tonight are in an extremely seri-
Gus condition and it is expected their
deaths will occur before morning. Evil
dence seems to point to the fact that
the high rate of speed over a tempo
rary switch was the chief cause of the
accident.
Released by Rescuers.
Robert Russell of Toronto, Ont, and
Fred Beckwith of New York city, pas
sengers on the flyer, were imprisoned
in the vestibule between the diner and
coach when the crash came and their
cries attracted the wreckers who
finally tore away sufficient section
of the roof to drag the men out. Rus
sell was hurt about the back, while
BeckWith escaped uninjured.
Same Train Wrecked a Week Ago.
BY a peculiar coincidence this same
train was wrecked a week ago tonight
near Hammond, Ind, though no one
was killed. A fireman was injured
and the passengers were severely jolt
ed.
Engineer Loses Two Legs and Arm.
Patrick Maloy, the veteran engineer
of the special, was found in a faint,
several rods from the wreck. One leg