Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1916-03-30
Chicago Buffalo Flyer and
Twentieth Century Are
Piled Up on Tracks
MANY OF THE DEAD
GROUND TO PIECES
Some of Injured Expected
to Succumb and Add to
Long Death Roll

Long Death Roll
Cleveland, Ohio, March 20. A
slip on the part Of dozlng tower
man was to blame for the wreck,
according to A. S. ingalls,, general
superintendent Of the New York
Central. ingalls,, with L. A. Rob-
inson, general passenger agent Of
the New York Central, and
Daniel McBane, superintendent OF
motive power Of the road, conduc-
ted an inquiry into the tragedy on
the part Of the road officials. The
tower mans wife had been III, It
was learned, and he had been
without sleep or on duty praetic-
ally since Sunday night.
Cleveland March 29.-At least thirty
persons were killed-the exact toll
may not be known until nightfall-and
more than forty injured in the wreck
Centraps crack passenger trains a
mile west Of Amherst.
Twenty-Five bodies had been taken
out at noon and five more were known
to be in the debris.
When the total of dead and wound
ed is finally ascertained, the wreck
will surpass, in its cost of life and
limb, even the wreck Of the Twentieth
Century Limited at Mentor in 1904,
when the famous train piled into
freight on it's second trip on the New
York Chicago twenty hour run.
Relief trains have been sent to the
scene from Cleveland Elyria and other
nearby places. The three trains in the
wreck were two sections of train No.
sc, eastbound, Chicago Buffalo Flyer,
and the Twentieth Century Limited.
The second section of the Chicago
Buffalo Flyer crashed into the first sec
tion in heavy fog when the first sec
tion stopped to take water.
The Twentieth Century, westbound,
ploughed through the wreckage Of
train No. 8, which had been hurled to
the westbound track, before f1agmen
could be sent out to stop it.
Train No. sc was due at Cleveland
at 4:05 a. m. r..
Most of the dead were in the rear
coaches of the first section Of the
Chicago-Buffalo Flyer.
Some dead were found in the rear
coaches of the second section Of the
flyer, which buckled over onto the
Twentieth Century's right of way and
were splintered by that train.
Most Of the dead are said to be for
eigners who were travelling in the rear
coach Of the first section Of the Chi
cago-Buffalo Flyer. ,. .....
There are no dead among the pas
sengers on the Twentieth Century
Limited though a number of passen-
gers were badly hurt on this train
Two coaches of the Twentieth Century
were overturned. The low casualties
on the Twentieth Century are attribute
ed to the fact that the palace train was
proceeding slowly because Of the
heavy fog.
Victims UncIothed.
The second section of the flyer was
going at a high rate of speed when it
struck the first section.
Many of the dead probably will 20
to their graves unidentified.
Most Of those killed were asleep in
the rear day coach of First No. 86 at
the time Of the crash and they had re
moved wraps and coats and other arti-
cles of identifying clothing.
The bodies of many of these scantily
clad victims are so horribly mangled
that identification, without the guild.
ance of the clothing they wore will be
impossible.
Some of the victims were decapitat-
ed. Arms, legs and portions of hu.
man bodies were scattered thickly
through the wreckage. ..2
. Relief parties collected the remains
of three bodies-those of a woman and
two men-and piled them, indiscrimin.
ately, in one basket. They probably
will be buried together.
Survivors Give Details.
Alfred Fritzele, Cleveland, salesman
in the Toledo sleeper of the first sec
tion and escaped injury. He helped
in the rescue and then came on to
Cleveland.
Aaron De Ray, Pittsburgh, who came
through with FritZele, said he was cat
apulted from his berth into one oc-
cupied by woman across the aisle
when the crash came. De Ray was un-
injured.
A. Comensky, Pittsburgh, coming
from Chicago, said he saw woman
die in the iwreckage before he could
extricate her. Another woman he saw
was badly injured and man had his
arms torn from their sockets.
S (Continued on page 81