The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1922-07-04
CRAzED BY FATAL
TRAIN CRASH DUE
TO HIS MISTAKE
Old Towerman Collapses
After Wreck of Read
ing Company Express.
HELD POST "a YEARS
Nine Killed and Seventy In
jured When Flyer Jumps
From Tracks.

AANiiS CITY, N. j., July a.
crazed with grief, John F. pewalt
towerman at winslow Junction. lies
In his home at Hammonton and
bess for death. so he can Join those
who lost their lives when a racing
express train plunged from the
tracks because of an improperly set
switch.
The wreck Of the train-a Phila-
delphia and Reading express-cost
the lives OF nine. About seventy
were Injured, a number of whom
will die.
Dewalt was in charge Of the sig
nails at the junction when the
train. laden with pleasure-seekers
swerved to a branch line. instead
of continuing straight ahead The
branch line was a curve, and the
train had not slackened its speed.
1t left the track. plowed across a
stretch Of ground. and the engine,
two pullmans and three day
coaches crashed into a nfty-foot
cut.
Wires News of Wreck.
The towerman. who for "a years
had routed trains past the point.
licked this message TO Atlantic
City:
MY God! I have sent number IS
on the wrong track"
Then the wire was cut, and the
opera :or, at Atlantic City could get
no answer to frantic calls.
Dewalt was found later at his
home by State troopers. An at
tempt was made to take him to Jail
at Camden. TO be questioned.
But his enfeebled condition made
this impossible-he is sixty.
He became hysterical and col
lapsed.
My God" he screamed. u sent
the engine through the wrong
switch. / sent those people to their
death.
"oh. why did / do it7 I'll hear
those screams and shrieks the rest
of my life. Let me die. / don't
want to live. / want to join those
whom / sent to their death"
His Mind Is Shattered
A guard was placed at the home,
and Dewalt was sent to bed. He
| will be questioned in the rigid in
vestigation which is already being
organized. Physicians called to at
tend Dewalt said his mind is shat
tered
Lawrence DewaIt. a son. insisted
his father was not TO blame.
The wreck has unbalanced him
| temporarily" he said. The in
vestigation will show he was not
responsible"
Dewalt's post is said TO be one
Of the most difficult points on the
division and he had worked there
since 1898 without trouble. The
Pennsylvania tracks join the Read
| ing at the junction in addition to
the main lines of both roads run
ming to Atlantic City. The Cen
trail Railroad Of New Jersey also
makes a connection with the Read
| ing at the junction.
Vice President Charles H. Ewing
of the Reading said the towerman
get the switches for the movement
of a train to the branch, evidsntly
| believing a train of empty coaches
which already had passed was the
express. The engineer. according
to Dewalt, apparently did not notice
the signal. and the train raced
ahead at the rate of 20 or rs miles
an hour.
Prosecutor wolverton Of Camden
County said Dewalt gave a plaus-
ible account of the accident.
He told me that he had ex-
pressed number 49," said the prose
cutor. "and had placed freight train
Gtdf-- e. nA--.R ha A~A 60
GO through.
Nine Victims Identified.
Then donR came a string OF
passenger coaches over the route
traversed by the express. II was
raining heavily at the time and he
believed the string of coaches to
be number 80. He then arranged
to swing the freight train back to
the main track. Before he could
do this flyer came along"
Six OF the nine killed have beer
identified as follows:
Joseph Dilasua, Pleasantville. Nj
William Westcott, Gloucester, n
J.. engineer of the wrecked train
William Souder, Atlantic City.
Francis L. Corbett, Philadelphia
John Linnehan, Philadelphia.
T. NJ. Selden. negro porter. Phila.
delphia.
May Blame Engineer.
As Investigations from severa
quarters got under way. IL was In
dictated, an effort might be made {,
fasten blame upon the dead engi
neer. William wescott. Investiga
tors said they thought wescott RAJ
past a red signal, set against hin
when the switch opened.
While early reports fixed thu
number of dead at nine. confusion
has arisen. State police say eigh
persons were killed: railroad ON
Gals account for six; while count,
| nficials still hnld To the hiRhe