Arizona republican., 1918-05-09
TRIBUTE
 .|S NOTABLE ONE

The funeral of John $. Williams and family killed at railroad crossing at Casa Grande on Sunday night, was held on Monday. The carriage con- taining the body of MT. Williams was covered with an American flag and the four carriages bearing the bodies of his wife and three children were, each draped in white. The five bodies were buried in one grave, that of the father being lowered first. It was by far the saddest day in the history of Casa Grande. All business was suspended. The procession that follow the dead to the great grave was a half mile in length.
 It is a curious fact that Mir. Williams was one of the most careful of drivers and that he had been loudest in pro- testing against the speed with which trains ran through the town. Not long before that he had saved the life of man caught on the track when the two parts of a freight train that were being brought together and then he stated before long there would be tragedy at the crossing that would result in the taking of some precau- 1 tons. A board of inquiry which began it's investigation on Sunday night and concluded it the following morning de- clared that the blame for the accident rested upon AIr Williams. This board i consisted of a representative Of the | road, a representative at Casa Grande l of the interests of A. Steinfeld & O., and another man.
 The testimony at the coroner's in 1 quest which was concluded on Tuesday which was slightly varying contro- pd hot xK-if, aside from the trainmen, said that the train was approaching the crossing at a speed of from 40 to 45 miles an hour. 1 It was coasting and so far as they could observe no emergency brake was 1 applied such as would have been in- dicated by the grinding of the wheels and sparks generated by them. Those | witnesses said that the headlight was not on and that at the mile post the whistle had not been sounded. The | light. they said was not flashed on un- | til the train was backing away from 1 the wreck.
 | The firemen said that he had turned 1 the switch sometime before the train 1 reached the crossing but he could not sav that there was any flash in re- 1 sponse to the turn of the switch. The | fireman said that he first saw the l OIl lllS lIdCk anu CduCu lO
 the engineer. to apply the emergency.
 It was also brought out that this was 1 the first passenger run of the engineer. | The engineer said that he applied all 1 the emergency he had and that was l testified to by other trainmen. As to
 the blowing of the whistle at the mile | post, the rear brakeman said that he l had not heard it but that frequently | at that distance the sound of the | whistle was not distinguiShable. AS to T the speed of the train, the trainmen es- i timated that it was between 20 and 27
 miles an hour.
 The automobile was lifted high in the air and the bodies of all the oc-
 cupants were thrown clear of it. The
 body of MT. Williams was picked up 110 feet from the crossing.
 The road over which the automobile
 had passed runs for some distance
 parallel with the track and as it was
 travelling in the same direction as the
 train to the sharp turn across the
 track, the driver could not have heard
 the ordinary noise of the train above
 that of the machineA
 The coroner's jury did not render a
 verdict at the conclusion of the testi-
 mony and the notes taken by the
 steuographer were brought to Phoenix
 that night for transcription.
 The 17-year- old son. Bentley Will
 Hams, the sole survivor of the family
 is yet so dazed by the sweeping trag-
 edy that he has not grasped the aw-
 fitness of it.