Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1914-08-08
TWO SCORE ARE
KILLED IN WRECK
GASOLINE MOTOR COLllDES
WITH PASSENGER TRAIN
NEAR JOPLIN.
OIL is SET AFIRE
Victims Pinned Under Wreckaoe
Plead to be Killed Rather Than
be Allowed to Slowly
Burn to Death.

The identified dead:
T.. o. LUSCOMBE, Joplin, Mo.
II. e. LUSCOMBE, Joplin, Mo.
p. d. GATHRIGHT, Nevada, Mo.
MRS. j. NJ. HARMON, Neosho, Mo.
MISS FAYE HARMON. Neosho, Mo.
MRS. LOREN M'CLAREY, Carter
vile, Mo.
MRS. G. L. EsHLEMAN. Dewey,
Okla.
THE MISSES MORGAN, sisters a..
Neosho, Mo-
BERT JOHNSON, Oklahoma City.
HERBERT RATLIFF, Eureka
Springs. Ark, motorman of the wreck
ed car.
EDWARD BRANDLEY, Eureka
Springs. brakeman.
s. A. NICHOLS, Harrison, Ark, con-
ductor.
FRANK HUTCHINSON (negro), Ne
osho, Mo.
ERNEST WRIGHT (negro), Joplin.
MRS. ALICE LINDSEY, Joplin.
HORACE LINDSEY, Joplin.
MRS. GEO. JOHANNES, Nevada,
Mo.
w. H. EMBRAY, CRANKY, Mo.
CHARLES CLEAR, Joplin.
WILLIAM CLEAR, Joplin.
SAM TAYLOR, negro, CRANKY, Mo.
SARAH JOHNSON, negro, Neosho,
Mo.
JAMES JOHNSON, negro, Neosho,
Mo.
STELLA SHOCKS AND DAUGH-
TER, negroes, Neosho, Mo.
Joplin, Mo-, Aug. 6.-The thirty
In S, n
last nights wreck at Tiptonford, ten
miles from here, when Kansas City
Southern passenger train collided with
Missouri and North Arkansas rail-
road gasoline motor car, were brought
here early today. Many of the dead
and injured were badly burned by the
explosion Of the gasoline tank on the
motor car.
News Of the wreck had spread rap
idly throughout the city and when the
relief train arrived in the early morn
ing hours the streets around the sta
ton were crowded with people.
W. M Drury, who was one of the
occupants Of the motor car, was
slightly injured. He Immediately ex-
tricated himself from the wreckage
and engaged in aiding those who were
more seriously hurt and succeeded in
rescuing his family from the wreck.
Drury also rescued three other per-
sons from the burning cars.
J. J. Luderback Of Joplin, who
crawled through a window and saved
nine persons pinioned under the
wreckage. was. obliged to fight with
one woman, whose child was lost, to
make her leave the burning car.
The wrecked train. north bound, was
late, having been delayed by freight
wreck at Gravette. Because of this it
was running on freight train sched-
ule. The motor was running quickly
across the tracks when it. encountered
the passenger train, the collision re-
sulting.
Tells Story Of Wreck.
Drury told the story of the wreck
here early today.
eve were running rapidly, about
thirty-five miles an hour" he said,
when suddenly there was terrific
impact. This was followed almost i'm
mediately by the explosion of the gaso-
line reservoir. BY the time crawled
from the wreck both the motor car
and the train, fed by the burning gaso-
line. seemed sheet Of flame. Added
to this there were the shrieks Of the
injured and dying.
Many persons pinned beneath the
wreckage cried to be released or
killed rather than face a slow death
by fire. don't know how many were
killed, but the motor car was crowded
and comparatively few escaped. Four.
teen men were riding in the smoker
and I heard of only one who escaped"
First Disastrous Wreck.
The wreck was said by railroad Off.