The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1922-07-03
I ARE SENT
TO DEATH BY
OPEN SWITCH
Seventy-five Others Injured
When Express, Running at
Full Speed, Leaves Philadel-
phia and Reading Tracks.
MISTAKE OF OPERATOR
tBy Associated Press)

ATLANTIC CITY, July 3.-An open
switch sent seven persons to their
deaths and injured rs others, about
half OF them seriously, early today
when the Camden-Atlantic City night
express on the Philadelphia and Read
ing railroad, running at full speed,
lsft the rails at a curve at Winslow
junction and rolled down an embank-
ment
The dead and injured were mostly
from South Jersey Point or from Phil
adelphia and vicinity Nearly all the
injured were removed to this CITY.
John z. Dewalt, an operator who has
been in the service of the company
Tor "a years, is in state of collapse
at his home at Hamilton, N ]. He is
under the surveillance of the state
police. Walter Westcott, engineer of
the express, is dead. He was killed
instantly beneath the wreck of the
locomotive.
Explains Accident
statement issued by Vice Presi-
dent Charles H. Ewing, of the Read
set the switch for the movement of
the train to the Cape May track of the
road, seemingly of the belief that
train of empty coaches which had
previously passed was the express.
The signal displayed apparently was
not observed by the engineer of the
express and took the curve at full
speed A searching investigation of
the accident is being made by the COM
pany IN conjunction with the inter-
state commerce commission and the
New Jersey board of utilities
The identified dead are: Walter
Westcott, engineer; William Souders,
fireman; Sol Worth, of Mays Land
ing, n. j., a passenger. The fact thar
the train was composed of solid steel
u. coaches probably kept the death list
down
A relief train bearing the injured
reached Atlantic City about a. m,
but 1t could not be definitely learned
how many persons it carried Two of |
the injured. whose names have not
been learned. died on the way to this |
city. Cordons of police had been
thrown around the station and every
available taxicab was commandeered |
to rush them to the hospital
Describes Scene
Dr. LipschultZ, one of the first
physicians on the scene, who arrived |
here exhausted after working among
the survivors, said:
When | went inside I heard no |
screams at first Many were moaning /
and there were many women with |
young children jammed down in the |
wreckage. I went to those who ap- |
nj nd
questions, trying to find those who re- |
quired emergency attention first They
appeared dazed Then in twinkling
TIA scene was changed The first |
shock was over and full realization of !
what had happened seemed to dawn /
on them. With the other physicians +
tried to give all aid possible. The
scene was terrible in the fitful flashes ,
of light that filtered through the win !
dows from automobiles that parked /
above. ! found Mace, whom | believe
is the conductor with big hole
punched in his head That is all 1 can
remember in detail now" /
Another Description
Georgia Pacywerler, of this city. one
OF the survivors, gave the following
description:
Everything was going along smooth |
ly when suddenly there came a pecuI- |
lar dizzy careening of the front of the i
train and next thing I knew we were
scrambling and fighting below in total t
darkness. | tainted then and it was
not until | was lifted clear by some-t +
body and was in an automobile above
the cut that I realized just what had
happened" she said, when the relief /
train pulled into the station at 4.4OI
o'clock this morning
1T was sickening and | turned nv
head away. In a short time there
were crowds of men about the pileai
up cars below us and automobiles
started to arrive and they turned their
headlights and flashlights down on the
wreckage so that the rescuers could /
work ! was taken away then and
saw no more of it,"
Others of the survivors told of the /!
heroism of a man whose initials were
given as ~ T. l." His name could
not be learned. He vas caught be-
tween two seats. with three dead on
top Of him. Although one arm was
ripped on and he was otherwise ter
rlbly injured, he shouted directions to
rescuers how to get inside with the 1
least trouble through wreckage, to the /,
dead and injured pinioned beneath I
the tumble of interior fittings. He
lived but few minutes after he had