New-York tribune., 1922-07-04


Camden for medical treatment and
some were able to go home after re-
ceiving medical attention at the scene
Of the accident. There were ninety
passengers on the train and virtually
all OF them were more or less injured.
Four Inquiries Are Begun
Officials Of the Philadelphia e.
Reading Railroad, county and state
authorities and the Interstate Com
merce Commission are conducting in
Quirles to ascertain the cause of the
accident. From the evidence at hand
it appears that John De Walt. of
Hammonton, n j.. towerman at Wins
low Junction, mistook string of
empty coaches that passed him lust
ahead of the express for the mid
night flyer and opened the switch lead
freight which he previously had side
tracked for the flyer.
instead o. the freight the flyer
r~'--o ro"rin~ down the stra ightaway
at the junction at a 75-mic clip.
i"e me "Dtn s~i.ch and was unable
70 make the curve at the terrific pace
az which ii was going. 1t tore up
walls and ties for $50 feet when the
engine and two Pullman cars went
Gown q fortyIoot embankment to the
pennsylvania Railroad tracks, while
nc five coaches, all but one of them
steel. rolled over on the slope
Although De Walt made mistake
IN opening the switch, final RESPONSE
bliity for the accident probably does
not rest with him, according to
Charles Ewing. a vice-president Of the
railroad. and Prosecutor w Wolverton of
Camden County. who examined De
" alt to-day They pointed out tha.
the opening of the switch automati-
caiiy set a signal which should have
warned Westcott, the engineer Of the
express and caused him to slacken his
speed. Westcott died beneath the
wreck Of his locomotive and cannot ex-
plain. Railroad men said, however,
that if his train had been going only
forty miles an hour it would not have
left the rails.
DE Walt had set the switches for
said Mr.. Ewing, seemingly in the be-
lief that a train Of empty passenger
coashes which had previously passed
was train No. 33 (the Flyer. The
signals Is displayed apparently were
not observed by. the engine man of
train No. SO, who took the junction
switch at full speed. This caused the
derailment."
Prosecutor Accepts De Waits Story
DE Walt gave me very plausible
account Of the accident" said Prose
cutof Wolverton. "He told me that he
had expected No 33 and had placed a
freight train on a siding to permit the
fyer to go through. Then along came
q long string of passenger cars over the
route traversed by the express. 1t was
raining heavily at the time and he be-
lieved this string of coaches to be No.
33. He then arranged to swing the
freight train back to the main track.
flyer which went down the embank-
mcnt with such disastrous results"
A survey of the vicinity Of the wreck
showed that the red light which the
investigators believe was thrown
g gainst the engineer of the fast train
when the switch was opened to permit
the freight to back down on the main
track was located about one thousand
feet from the switch.
ln the opinion of railroad men the
engineer, even though he saw the red
would never have BEEN able to bring
his train to q stop before reaching the
switch.
The investigators are anxious to
learn if those aboard the train felt any
grinding of the brakes just before the
accident or if they noticed any per-
ceptible slowing up of the train, This
information, they say, will aid them II
whether the engineer did
see the red light and did his utmost to
prevent the cata strophe
In its final swaying rush along the
ties the express carried away an cleo
tric light pole, the globe of which fur
nished the only illumination at the
switch. Passengers, rudeiy awakened
in upset cars, found themselves. in
utter darkness save for occasional
flashes of lightning. Screams and
yroans rose above the sounds of the
storm.
Disheveled figures Of men and