Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 300, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 December 1918 — OVER 60 FOOT EMBANKMENT [ARTICLE]

OVER 60 FOOT EMBANKMENT

MORE THAN SCORE OF PERSONS INJURED IN WRECK TWO MILES EAST OF ATTICA. Attica, Dec. 23.—West bound Wabash passenger train No. 53, running five minutes late, traveling 50 miles an 'hour, left the rails at 5:45 o’clock tonight two miles east of here, ran about 400 feet along the right of way and then plunged down a sixtyfoot embankment, turning over in its descent. More than a score of persons were seriously injured. The train, which left Lafayette at 5" o’clock, was made Up of an engine, combination coach and two day coaches. It is nothing short of miraculous • that the majority of the persons riding on the train were not killed outright. The main track was left clear of all wreckage and the cars were strewn along the sixty foot embankment. . The engine is lying at the foot of the embankment and is ready for the scrap heap. It is lying on its back and is completely demolished. The combination coach, was telescoped and after the crash landed at the foot of the bank, parallel with a wagon road. How any of the persons riding in this coach escaped death is beyond explanation. The two day coaches are hanging on the embankment at an angle of 45 degrees. Thomas Fellows, Danville, Hl., fireman on the train, was fatally scalded when he was pinned in the cab of the engine. He was taken to a Danville, ill., hospital., He was the only member of the crew who was injured.