Evening star., 1917-02-27
ATLEAST TWENTY
KILLED IN WRECK
Pennsylvania Railroad Freight
Crashes Into Express at
Mount Union Station.
3-YEAR RECORD is BROKEN

By the Associated Press.
ALTOONA. Pa, February 27.-At least
twenty persons were killed when the
eastbound Mercantile express on the
Pennsylvania railroad was run into
shortly after midnight by fast prefer
ence freight train at the station at the
little mountain town of Mount Union,
forty three miles east of here. Several
others were injured. Those most Sc
riously hurt were taken to the Blair
Memorial Hospital at Huntingdon.
twelve miles west of Mount Union.
The express train had stopped to dis
charge passengers at Mount Union and
members of the crew were testing the
airbrakes when without warning the
heavy freight crashed into the passen-
prevailed
Alongside of the express train at the
station was an accommodation train
carrying workers from the Mount Union
powder plant, and this train had bare
ly moved away from the station when
the crash occurred. There were three
sleepers attached to the Mercantile EN-
press. all of steel construction. AS the
freight engine. backed by a heavy train.
ploWed into the passenger train the
rear coach of the latter telescoped the
second passenger coach. which was
split asunder by the terrific impact. The
freight engine was literally welded to
the passenger car.
Passenger Coaches Kept on Track.
None Of the passenger coaches left
the track. but six Of the freight cars,
coalladen, were hurled down a forty
foot embankment. Relief trains from
Altoona and Huntingdon, bearing ply
sicians. were hurried to the scene:
Little headway could be made in
reaching the dead and injured owing
to the three sleeping coaches being
almost inextricably massed together
An examination of the wreck showed
that the Bellwood. the third sleeper
had split apart and that the car ahead
was forced clear through 1t, while the
third car from the rear of the train
had plowed into the second car. Tele-
scoping of the cars was of such force
and character that all those within the
car Bellwood were made prisoner. The
train crew and the uninjured passen-
gers were unable to reach them to
give aid to any that might have es-
capped death. The wreck blocked
tracks Nos. 1 and and caused a shut
down of traffic for several hours.
List of Identified Dead.
Following is a list of the identified
dead:
Chester A Minds. twenty-five years
old. Ramey. Pa; Mrs. Doris Minds
twenty -eight. his wife; Chester A
, Minds, jr.. their infant son. two weeks
old; Miss Maud Minds, twenty-eight
Confer. N Y; Mrs. R. Segur Dellng.
Cleveland; NJ A. Caslisch. Confer, N. Y.
la brother law of Mrs. Minds; Miss A. F.
Dellin, Cleveland, Ohio, Mrs Minds maid;
Richard Owen, seven; Dorothy Owen
six and Jean Owen. four, nephew and
nie.es of Mr.. Minds: Charles Levine
354 Nassau street, New York: P B
Pollard. Sc Lispenard street, New
York: Milton Hymes, 474 West 1oSth
street. New York: N. Bright, coiored
porter; j. s. Kelley, Brooklyn; H. A.
Rocfler, Prattsville, Wis, l.. w. Mont
gomery, salesman, 517 East Grove
street. Bloomington, ILL.,: C. NJ. Medskei,
| 30S West 46th street, New York, and
p. R. Tanning. Prattville. Wis.
Body supposed to be that of Mrs. Fan
ming. because of letter congratulating
her on her marriage. On this body was a
Bible tearing the name Miss Ellen P.
Hayt, Denver, Col.
All of those killed were in the car
Bellwood. which was telescoped and
crushed to pieces.
An official of the Pennsylvania rail-
road here said the list of dead may ex-
ceed twenty, as fourteen bodies have
been recovered, and at least six are
known to- be dead in the wreck.
Inclined to Blame Engineer.