Husted, Colorado Train Wreck

August 14, 1909

PASSENGER TRAINS COLLIDE.

Nine Persons Dead and Between Forty and Fifty Injured.

Colorado Springs – Nine persons are dead and others are expected to die between forty and fifty were injured, three engines are in the ditch, two baggage cars, including the contents were smashed and several passenger coaches are badly damaged as the result of a head on collision between eastbound passenger train No 8 and westbound passenger No 1 on the Denver & Rio Grande, near Husted, thirteen miles north of this city, at 10 25 a m Saturday. The wreck was due to a misunderstanding of orders.

Carbon County Utah 1909-08-20

Submitted & transcribed by Stu Beitler  Thank you, Stu!

NINE DEAD IN WRECK

RIO GRANDE TRAINS IN A HEAD-ON COLLISION.

NEARLY FIFTY ARE INJURED

NUMBER SO BADLY HURT THEY MAY NOT SURVIVE.

J. W. LEAFGREN of Axtell, Neb., Among the Victims-Misunderstand of Orders Cause of Accident.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., Aug 14-Nine persons are dead, and others are expected to die; between forty and fifty are injured; three engines are in the ditch; two baggage cars, including the contents, are smashed to kindling wood, and several passenger coaches are badly damaged as the result of a head-on collision between east bound passenger train No. 8, and westbound passenger No. 1, on the Denver & Rio Grande, near Husted, thirteen miles north of this city, at 10:25 a. m. today. The wreck was due to a misunderstanding of orders, it is said.

Misunderstood the Signal.

As No. 8 drew into Husted about forty miles an hours, the crew of the engine saw a light engine standing on the switch north of the station.

Mistaking the engine for the second section of No. 1, the crew did not stop, and went through the station as fast as the two engines could draw the thirteen heavily laden coaches. As soon as the train got out of the station, the engineer of the first engine of No. 8 saw another train coming slowly down the incline. He slammed on the air brakes, and the emergency brakes, and then shouted to the other members of the two crews to jump. Before they had time to jump, No. 3 had rammed No. 1 so hard that all three engines lay in the ditch.

Fireman J. A. GOSSAGE, of train No. 8, was killed as he was firing his engine, and never knew what struck him. The members of the other crew escaped serious injury by jumping.

The smoker, attached to train No. 8, was the car in which the people were killed. All those badly injured were in the same car.

Collision Near the Switch.

The wreck occurred just east of the east switch at Husted. The impact of the trains was terrific and the locomotives and the baggage and smoking cars of both trains were badly damaged.

The shrieks of the wounded were pitiful and those who were not injured among the passengers immediately started the work of rescue. It was impossible to accurately determine the number of dead, but first reports indicated that eight had been killed.

Some of the injured are severly hurt, and it is likely that some of them may die.

The cause of the wreck is believed to have been the failure of one of the train crews to properly carry out instructions. ASSISTANT GENERAL PASSENGER AGENT WADLEIGH of Denver had received only meagre reports of the wreck shortly after noon today. They confirmed the first reports as to the dead list being five, but who they were was unknown.

Train No. 8 was in charge of CONDUCTOR DALTON and ENGINEER HATWOLD. No. 1 was in charge of CONDUCTOR RISLEY of Denver and ENGINEER JOHNSON of Denver. The engines of both trains went into the ditch. A wrecking train left Pueblo for the scene of the accident.

List of Dead and Injured.

The following is a partial list of dead and injured in Denver & Grande wreck at Husted.

A revised list of dead follows:

JAMES ROSEPORKA, Chicago.
C. M. LARKIN, Colorado Springs.
C. S. BROWN, Jericho Springs, Mo.
J. A. GOSSAGE, fireman on engine No. 8, Colorado Springs.
T. E. MURPHY, traveling car agent, Denver.
A. A. DAVIDSON, McPherson, Kas.
ATTORNEY F. G. FREDERICK, St. Louis.
F. W. BELESS, Colorado Springs.
JAMES J. PARKER, Chicago.

The injured:

ANDREW JACOBSON, Oldham, S. D.; internal injuries.
ELMER JOKICH, Virginia Falls, Ill.; leg broken.
J I FRANK, McPherson, Kas.; leg and head cut.
F. J. SEDLACIK, St. Louis; head cut, legs broken.
MRS. T. M. RANDOLPH, Okamulgee, Okla.; internal injuries.
FAY STECK, Kansas City; slightly injured.
JOHN W. ROBERTS, Cambria, Mo.; head cut, legs broken.
E. C. WHITSIDE, Jericho Springs, Mo.; back injured.
HENRY C. SHIPMAN, 1572 Kimball avenue, Chicago; ribs and leg broken.
J. W. LEAFGREN, Axtell, Neb.; legs cut
O. C. SKINNER, Topeka, Kas.; ribs broken.
E. C. TANNEHILL, Des Moines, Ia.; arm broken.
JOHN REINHART, Carson, Ia.; leg broken.
PETER NELSON, of Monroe, Neb., taken to St. Francis hospital with his chest crushed, in a dying condition.
MRS. D. K. SEATON, Harrisbury, Ill., taken to the Arcadia hotel; is suffering from a broken back. Her death is expected.
G. H. MCCREARY, Dallas, Tex.; severely injured.
EUGENE H. HALTACHER, Eau Claire, Wis., slightly bruised.
D. H. HOGAN, Lancaster, O., cut on back of head, slightly injured.
EMIL KAUHER, 215 Johnson street, Chicago, severely injured.
MRS. D. K. HETON, Harrisburg, Ill., sprained back, slightly injured.
W. L. BALL, Decatur, Ill., sprained ankle.

The Nebraska State Journal, Lincoln, NE 15 Aug 1909

WRECK DUE TO NEGLIGENCE.

Train Crew to Stand Trial on Charge of Criminal Negligence.

Colorado Springs, Colo -- The coroner's jury which investigated the head on collision on the Denver & Rio Grande railroad at Husted, Colo, Saturday morning, when ten persons were killed and three score injured returned its verdict on Tuesday. The verdict finds that the wreck was due to criminal negligence on the part of the train crew, composed of Engineers Lezsig, and Hollingsworth, Fireman Wright, Conductor Dalton and Brakeman McElhern. The verdict also declares that the evidence shows that a defective system for issuing train orders was employed by the railroad at the time of the wreck. An order was sent to Denver to arrest the members of the train crew.

Carbon County Utah 1909-08-20

Submitted & transcribed by Stu Beitler  Thank you, Stu!

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