Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1917-09-18
Fairfield and Charlton
Stock Shippers Among
Victims of Wreck on Bur.
lingtoni Road in Illinois,
Several Iowans Injured.
ENGINEER IGNORES
WARNING SIGNAL

Aurora, ILL.,. Sept. 17,-Six Iows
stockmen are among the eight identi.
fed victims of rear-end collision OF
two trains on the Burlington railway
at Earlville. ILL.,, forty-fve miles west
OF Aurora last night.
A negro stock handler from Creston
was killed also. The body OF the
eighth victim, which was taken from
the wreckage late this afternoon. has
not been identified. w
TWO MEN MISSING.
George Erb and w. w. Hardin Of
Pleasantville, Iowa. are unaccounted
for.
The known dead, all 1owans, are:
OTIS MCAULEY. Kellerton.
THOMAS BENDER, Fairfield.
WILLIAM FOULKES, Charlton.
JOHN WALKER, Milo.
w. D. DIXON, Hamilton.
FRED MANLEY. Osceola.
About twenty-five men, most Of
them sleeping, were in the two rear
cars of the stock train, through which
the locomotive Of merchandise train
plowed when warning signals were ig.
nored. Ten or more we're injured
some seriously.
THE KNOWN INJURED.
The know injured are:
A. c. Carlson, Galesburg, ILL.,; engt
neer Of the merchandise freight; cut
about 1.-THE head and face: slight con.
cussion.
Roy Hopper, Charlton: foot crushed
and right side injured: serious.
Fred Camady, Ford: cut about the
head.
John Rogers, Knoxville; feet crush
ed. but amnutation ray be avoided !.
Harvey Vaughn. Caldwell, Idaho; In :
jured about the head.
Floyd Twombley. Osceola: cut and
bruised about the head and body.
BLOCK SIGNAL IGNORED.
The wreck was caused. railroad Off
cials say, by the pursuing train run.
ming through block signal. The engi-
neer Of this train, A. C. Carlson, is at
the st. Charles hospital, Aurora, and Is
unable to make a statement.
After the crash. several of the cars
took fire. adding to the nights horror.
The flames were help. however, In
that they lit up the scene and gave res
cuers a better chance to locate men
pinned under wreckage. Most of the
seriously injured we're brought to Aur
ora hospitals. All traffic on the rail-
road was blocked for more thatn nine
hours, the first train getting into Aur-
ora from the west this morning at $3.50
o'clock.
ENGINEER CALLED CARELESS.
Patrolman Walter Wilson OF tbs
Aurora police force who went with En-.
gineer Carlson in an ambulance to an
Aurora hospital, in report to Chief
OF Police McCarty today stated that
Carlson told him that he had been
beating each block signal by about
minute from a point near Galesburg,
to the place where the accident hap
pened, at a distance of approximately
eighty miles.
Keeping In the same block with the
stock train would insure the pursuing
train against being delayed by getting
q block signal, but would make 1t din.
cult to avoid collision II the train
ahead were stopped abruptly. The
stock train was stopped finally by
block signal and the wreck resulted.
railroad officials say.
They assert that warning red lights
were hung out on the last car Of the
back waving warning lantern, but
that 1t did not avail against Engineer
Carlson's lack OF caution.
CHILLicoTHE MAN ESCAPES.
William Golf Of Chillicothe, Iowa.
said that he and several other stock
men were sitting talking in the last
car OF the train which was run into
and that after their train had stopped,
the conductor. who was watching the
pursuing train. saw it's headlight
creeping closer and closer and finally
yelled:
God, Almighty. get of as quickly
as you can. He isn't going to STOP"
I'VE jumped of and that was all
that saved our lives" ,Goff said. The
oncoming train ran right by the hae
man who had gone back 200 yards ana
was waving his red lantern"