The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1919-01-16
Il Die IN wreck
WHILE ASLEEP
Centrars Southwestern Limited
Crashes Into Rear OF the
Wolverine. Standing Still.
ACCUSE THE ENGINE DRIVER.
Every Passenger IN One Pullman
Killed or Seriously Hurt--Aii In
Night oress - identification
Siow--Dead Torn TO Bits.

Rochester. N. Y--Twenty-one per
sons were killed. all but one of then
instantly, and three others were fatal
| ly injured as result of rear-end
collision between .he New York Cen,
trai-Michigan Central train known as
the Wolverine and the New York Cen.
tral-Big Four train, the Southwestern
Limited.
The accident occurred near Soutl,
byron, at the foot of the steep grade
between Rochester and. Buffalo. The
Wolverine had stopped at the foot of
the grade, waiting for u pushcr engine
IL IL said the block was set against the
following train. but 1t followed the
wolverine into the block and struck
the rear of the train ahead at speed
estimated at 90 miles mn hour.
The names of the dead as far AS
known are:
Private Franklin H. Leonard, Bear
Lake, Mich; Sergeant =. ID. Harvey,
Company +, Thirty-seventh Infantry,
michigan; Ballard Jones, Pullman car
porter, New York; George Is. Cum
mings, George Rigby, Patrick Dough-
erty, Mrs. Jennie Levene, all of New
York; six men, unidentified six wo-
men, unidentified one boy, unidenti-
fed one girl, unidentified.
The injured: Mr.. and Mrs. Nathan |
Llckerman, Hotel Endicott, New York
city Miss Flora Doherty, Flint, Mich.
all in Batavia Hospital.
Leonard was returning from France,
where he had seen active service, Ser
geant Harvey had been on duty on the
Mexican border.
According to ii. Frledly, engineer of
the Southwestern Limited, he saw no
warning signal until he was within five
car lengths of the Wolverine, when a
red flare suddenly loomed up ahead.
He applied the emergency brakes, but
his train broke under the strain, and
his engine, driven by the weight of a
buffet car. two day coaches and six
steel sleepers, plowed into the rear of
the Wolverine.
The last coach of the seven which
made up the Wolverine was demollsh.
I'd like an eggshcll, the coach ahead
IF il lifting slightly and driving back
lcross the floor clear TO the end, drop
ling its trucks as the last car was .
iriven underneath Every person in ,
he last coach was killed
Engineer w Gibbons was in charge
II the Wolverine. As soon as the mem.
,ers of the train crew could reach a
telephone aid was summoned from
rochester and Batavia. Every hos.
ial in Rochester sent ambuances.
octors and nurses to the scene a
So tightly were the bodies of the
cad wedged INTO the wreckage that 1t a
as several hours before they could b
Q recovered. Finally "A wrecking crew D
fled the body of the top car ont of a
&c smashed Shell beneath it, Most Of N
&c dead were found in the wreckage H.
the end of the shattered 7,
lr, where they had been ground to g,
Is as the cas- tclescoped .,
Besides being badly manglcd the a,
,dies were clad mostly In night cloth. n
e which made identification Joubly ~
nicult.
A joint investigation by representa-.
yes Of the railroad administration A
ID The Public Service Commission IS sc
der way. ma
One of the passengers who had sc
rrow escape was Martin g. Alger, Of
sistant executive secretary to Re i'm
nal Director A. H. Smith He said gr
C car in which he was travelling was III
lsed 20 feet in the air by the col An
ion, which had Il SCATTERING impact. FIR
tho same time the lights went ont ~,