Deming graphic. (Deming, N.M.) 1903-1948, 1918-08-09
FOUR DIE IN COLLISION
lmpalIenCe Of New Service Driver
Results In Disaster at Camp
Cody s. P. Crossing
Chaffsur and Three Soldiers Killed;
TWO More Badly Hurt; One
May Die

~ AANfrF-f Hff
ing to cross the S. p. tracks with a
load Of soldiers for Deming last Fri
day afternoon at about 6 80 o'clock,
three soldiers and Mcclure himself
lost their lives and two other soldiers
were badly injured, one so seriously
that he was believed for II time to
hay n little chance for recovery. The
dead, beside Mcclure are Roy and
Vern Kinnaman, Of the 34th ambul-
ance company, and Leo McGrath of
the l36th infantry. The two injured
men are Richard Smith and Robert
Calton both Of the l35th ambulance
corps. The two Kinamans were from
Walthill Neb., McGrath, Smith and
Cation all came from ST. Paul, MINI.
Mcclure, the service ear driver,
was instantly killed under the wheels
of the freight train, which mutilated
him terribly, The two Kinnamans
lived for a short time after the col
AiOn but neither regained con
seriousness; Roy lived only ten min
utes and died before he could be
removed from the scene Of the ac-
cident; Vern died in about an hour
at the base hospital. McGrath was
killed instantly, the impact of the
collision breaking his neck. Smith
sustained a skull fracture and CAL
ton compound knee fracture.
The disaster occurred at the stad-
ium crossing, about a mile from the
S. p. station. The ear carrying the
six men approached the crossing
from the west on II road parallelhng
the railroad, and were stopped by the
crossing guard for inspection of their
passes. just as they stopped the
engineer on the freight sounded his
whistle half mile away, and whistled
once more about two hundred yards
from the crossing, the evidence
shows, also setting his bell ringing
at this point. The guard urged Nc
Clure to hold his ear till the train
passed and at least one of the sol
diers added his own suggestion to
that Of the guard. However, Mcclure,
who was Il new man IN the service
car business, having started only two
DAYS before, thought he could beat
tho train across and made the start,
just as the ear was fairly on the
track the train, running about 20
miles an hour struck il squarely.
Mcclure went under the wheels; all
the others were thrown beside the
track except Smith, who was carried
several hundred yards by the engine
hanging head downward, ,one foot hav-
ing been caught on a projection from
the engine. The ear was also carried
nearly tn the crossing near the motoI
park q Quarter-mile east, where the
train was brought to n stop. The
bodies Of the dead men were gathered
M at once and taken in charge by
the camp authorities and the injured
men rushed to the hospital.
An inquest held Saturday morning
by Judge c c, Rogers on the Me
Clure death resulted in verdict t'
the effect that the deceased cam'
to his death by a Southern Pacific
freight train while ende0voring t.
cross the tracks ahead of the train
The board of inquiry assembled b!
the railroad authorities on the sam'
day laid the blame for the acciden
to Mcclure. Part of their report u
given here verbatim:
"This board finds the automobile
had approached the tracks from thu
north or on fireman's side, along
road parallelling right-of-way for ap
prox;mately distance Of 1000 foot
and when within 100 feet of the rail
road crossing followed turn in tn,
road at right angles to the track, a
which point the driver was stopped
BIZ Army Guard ON duty at entrance
10 Camp Cody, for the purpose Of in
lpecting credentials Of occupants o
ear; that after this had been done
and the machine had started 10 move
guard warned driver of the approach
ing train, and told him TO wait unit
train had gone by.
at was also brought out at corn
er's inquest that in addition to warn
ing given by military guard that tn
occupants of the automobile request
ed driver to stop and wait until tn
approaching train had passed. TIN
crossing from the direction in whic
the machine was approaching Is on
level grade, has an unobstrueted veN
permitting a train to be seen for sev