The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1913-08-01
TWO DIE IN WRECK;
MANY BADLY HURT
L. AND c. TRAIN FALLS THROUGH
TRESTLE NEAR CHESTER

Mixed Train With Fans for Ball Game
Wrecked-COaI Car Jumps and
Breaks Trestle.
Chester, S. c., July 3O.-Two per
sons were killed and fifty wer more
or less injured when two passenger
coaches of the Lancaster and Chester
railway plunged through a trestie and
fell so feet into the stream below late
today. Several of the injured may die
The wreck occurred at Hooper's
Creek, seven miles from here.
v. H. Craft, of Anderson, and Elijah
Hall, the latter a negro member OF
the train crew, were killed. A num-
Der of others, it is believed, cannot
survive the night.
TIL accident occurred as the train,
loaded with passengers who expected
to witness a baseball game at Chester,
was passing over a trestle.
The train was a mixed freight and
passenger. The six freight cars and
the engine passed over the trestl in
safety. A coal car, next in line,
seems to have shaken the trestle bad
ly, for when the passenger cars en-
tered it the structure went down, car
rying with it the two passenger cars,
which we're splintered by the fall.
A rescue train with physicians and
nurses was rushed to the scene. The
injured were brought to Chester.
Nearly all of the injured were so bad
ly hurt as to require treatment at a
hospital
Chester, July 3O.-One of the most
fearful wrecks in the history OF
Chester county occurred this after
noon at 5 o'clock, when the west
bound Lancaster and Chester mixed
freight and passenger train, loaded
with passengers for the Chester-Dil-
lon baseball game, was wrecked at
Hooper's Creek, between KnoX's and
Orr's seven miles from Chester. One
member of the crew, Elijah Heath, a
negro was instantly killed, and V. H,
Craft, of Anderson, died later from
injuries. Nearly fifty of the crew and
passengers were injured, several OF
whom will probably die before morn
ing. V. H. Craft, of Anderson, died
while being brought to Chester.
The engine, tender and six freight
cars passed over the bridge in safety.
A coal car was next, and this seems
to have jumped the track and cut the
ties of the bridge badly, with the re-
suit that when the passenger coaches
and two box cars reached the trestle
the structure was badly torn up, and
the passenger coaches dropped from
a sheer height of fifty feet into the
bed of the stream.
Ordered to Bring Physicians
Engineer John Stewman, warned
by his airbrakes that something was
wrong, looked back and saw the cars
piled in the stream He made his
way to a nearby house, where there
was phone. He was instructed by
Superintendent A. P. Mcclure at Ian
caster to bring the remaining part OF
his train on to Chester and return
with all he physicians that he could
secure. This order was carried out
and practically every physician and
nurse in Chester was hurried to the
scene
News of the disaster reached the
baseball grounds while the cham
pionship contest was at its height,
and hundreds hurried to the scene OF
the disaster in automobiles and other
vehicles. The sight that met the eyes
of those who reached the spot first
was appalling. Scores were fastened
underneath the battered cars and
screaming in agony and fear. The
first step necessary to effect the res
cue of the wounded was to build a
bridge out of the wreckage and climb
from car to car and take out the
wounded as rapidly as they could be
reached. Many acts of heriosm in the
work of rescue we're performed, and
there we're many instances of self
sacrifice as the physicians proceeded