Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 27, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 October 1906 — AGAIN FORTUNATE [ARTICLE]

AGAIN FORTUNATE

Hoiion Has Head-On Collision at Broad Ripple. RENSSELAER PEOPLE IN WRECK. Mall Trains 31 and 32 Crash Together Thursday Morning.—No One la Killed But Several Are Severely Bruised Up. • * —— Another of those “fortunate” wrecks, which has guided the Monou’s lucky star for a number of years, occurred at Broad Ripple, a suburb of Indianapolis, at 7:25 Thursday morning, when southbound train 31 crashed into northbound truin 32 head-on, seriously injuring two persons, slightly injuring a few others, wrecking both engines and blocking the tracks. The collision was a femarkable one in that there was no loss of life. The seriously injured are H. J. Hanseman, a mail clerk, living in Cincinnati, ana G. R. Jones, conductor of train No. 32, of Indianapolis. Hanseman was pinioned to the floor of his car by a tender, which was thrown inside the car, and it was about half au hour before he was rescued, The clerk was badly cut about the head and face and bis skull seemed slightly fractured over the left eye. The northbound train was in charge of Conductor G. R. Jones, who was walking through his train when the collision threw him from his feet. He struck his back on a seat and landed on his head on the floor of a car with such force that he was rendered unconscious. The friends of Jones were apprehensive concerning his condition, for the reason that his mind seemed a blank after be regained his feet. He could not tell wMjtfr he lived.

Samuel Wallingford, an old man living in Mentone, Ind., who was a passenger on No. 32, was cut about the head and needed the services of a physician. Several other passengers were slightly bruised in the shake-up, and one of them, a passenger in a Pullman, was cut across the hand with flying glass. The collision occurred near the center of Broad Ripple, the southbound train coming to a stop on the trestle work over the canal. The northbound mail was slowing up to take a siding at the Broad Ripple station, and was about a block from the place when No. 31 came from the north at a high rate of speed, The enginemen had little time to act. Reversing their engines, the crews .sprang from the cabs and alighted cn the soft earth at the side of the track. The engine of the northbound train had slowen down nearly to a stop when the other train crashed 'into it. There was a deafening roar, followed by a hissing of steam that appalled the people of the suburb. The tender of the southbound engine was jammed back with such force that it was ripped away from the truoks and shoved back into the first mail car. The pressure was so strong that the sides of the mail car bulged out so that the tender oould get inside.

By a strange fate the tender remained suspended about a foot above the floor of the oar, and in this space was Hanseman, the clerk. When the trainmen and suburbanites ran to the rescue they were unable to pull the clerk from under the tender, as his feet were caught by broken timbers. The engines were looked together and the front ends of both were crushed in. The trucks were thrown from the track, but none of the trucks of any of the cars left the tracks. Had it not been for the battered engine and mail car the casual observer would have thought the trains were attached to a single train. A few windows in several of the ooaches were broken. Passengers in both trains said they reoeived a shaking up, but that after the exoitement of the first shock there was no confusion. Hanseman talked rather incoherently, and gave different addresses when ksked where he lived. From what oouid be learned from him he lives at 2543 Tremont street, Cincinnati.

Conductor Strong said his train was running on time, and that Hiad a clear right-of-way. The train does not stop at Broad Ripple, and Strong says the train was running at a speed of about 25 miles au hour when the aocident happened, Had the southbound train reached the place a moment later the northbound train would have been on the sidings Strong said he did not understand the delay of the northbound train in reaching the siding. The trainmen of No. 32 said there had been a mistake in time. -Conductor Jones was not in condition to explain why his train was late in reaching the siding. There were rumors about the wreck that Jones bad orders to take the siding at the Belt junction and wait for No. 31, and that he thought he had time to run ahead and reach Broad Ripple before the southbound train reached the place. Mrs. W. H. Beam, Mrs. George Bell and Mrs. W. F. Smith, of this city, were on the northbound train coming home from Indianapolis, where they had been attending the grand lodge meeting of Rathbone Sisters. The two former were sitting in seats thrown together, facing each other, Mrs. Beam with back toward the front of the train, and Mrs. Bell a few seats back of

them. Some gentlemen who knew them came along and sat down in the seat with Mrs. Smith, and all were talking when the crash came. Mrs. Smith and the gentleman were pitched forward with such force againat Mr. Beam that the back of her seat was broken and her back sprained quite badly. Mrs. Bell was thrown right np over the back of the seats and pitched forward several seats,landing in the center of the aisle. She struck her cheekbone against some obstruction and has a black eye to remember the wreck by. Mrs. Smith escaped with a slight bruise on the knee, but Mrs. Beam, who is a large, fleshy woman, was under a doctor’s care since her return home Thursday afternoon, .but yesterday morning wsb feeling much belter, although quite sore from bruises, as were the other ladies.

Charley Mann, of this place, was one of the mail clerks on the southbound train, but escaped injury by jumping. Geo. F. Meyers and F. B. Ham were also passengers on the southbound train, but escaped injury, except Mr. Ham, who was severely shaken and bruised a little. In fact, none of the passengers were badly hurt, we understand, on the southbound train. James F. Irwin was returning from a business trif) from Muncie, and was also on the northbound train. He got his knee bruised some and it pained him considerably the night after the wreck. Harry Karrie, the railroad’s attorney, met the Rensselaer injured at Lafayette with a roll of the long green that would choke an elephant, and settled the damage and took receipts in full from them. Mrs. Bell was paid $30;“ J? F. Irwin $25 ; Mrs. Smith $lO. Mrs. Beam did not settle.