Evening star. [volume], April 26, 1946, Page A-5, Image 5

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

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Victims of Rail Wreck Tell
Of Terror and Acts of Heroism
By th« Associated Press #
AURORA, 111., April 26.—Terror
gripped the passengers trapped in
the rear car of the Burlington Rail
road’s Advance Flyer when it was
struck by the line’s speeding Expo
sition Flyer at nearby Naperville
yesterday.
Some of the victims, in St.
Charles Hospital here, related their
harrowing experience and of the
many acts of heroism as uniden
tified men and women helped lift
or carry injured passengers through
windows to safety.
After the first shock and fright,
there were more agonizing moments
for the trapped passengers, fearing
that fire would result as acetylene
torches dropped sparks into the car
while workmen attempted to rescue
them. Many of the passengers were
caught under the wreckage, bodies
and luggage.
Dies After Wiring Parents.
Delbert Boon. 21, a • sailor of
Luray, Mo., was one of the men
taken out of the car and brought
to St. Charles Hospital. There he
immediately telegraphed his par
ents, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Boon:
"Come and see me. Was in train
accident.’’ Thirty minutes later he
died.
Mrs. Irene Cook, 20, who was on
her way with her mother, Mrs.
Florence Whitehouse, from Sche
nectady, N. Y., to a new home in
Kahoka, Mo„ was in the rear car
of the Advance flyer.
“I was seated facing the approach
ing train,” Mrs. Cook said, “but it
all happened so fast I didn’t see
it clearly. Suddenly I must have'
been thrown into the air, because
I remember hitting the seat twice
with my head and waking up under!
a pile of people and seats. My
mother was buried beneath another
seat.
Still Frightened After Rescue.
"There was so much screaming
that I was as frightened when I
rescued as when the crash occurred.i
The men came .with their torches!
through the top of the car and
sparks fell. We were afraid they
would ignite oil in the car. One of
my legs was caught under some
thing, but I pulled it free and
went around putting out the sparks
as they fell.
“Even before the rescuers started
working we were frightened by the
smell of ashes. I was taken out
of a window.”
Meanwhile, her mother, whose
address was listed as Cohoes, N. Y„
had been taken to the Copley
Hospital in Aurora. She under
went a leg amputation.
Mrs. Anne Hovey, 72, of Keokuk,
Iowa, who was seated near Mrs.
Cook and her mother, said that
"things happened so fast that I
don’t remember what happened to
me. I was doubled up suddenly and
my knees were pushed against my
chest.” Her legs were fractured, i
Rescued Through Window.
Mr. and Mrs. Henry Faber of Keo-1
kuk, also in the rear car, said
“everything fell on us” when the
trains crashed. Mr. Faber, released
from the Marine Corps two days
ago, and 'his wife were rescued'
through a window.
By a fortunate coincidence, a full'
staff of physicians and nurses was!
available at St. Charles Hospital
when the victims were brought in
for treatment. A weekly staff meet
ing was being held by 50 physicians
and surgeons and 77 nurses and
student nurses. They went imme
diately to the emergency and oper
ating rooms to treat the injured.
Among the many acts of heroism
witnessed at the scene of the wreck
were those of the Rev. Dunston
Velese of St. Francis College of
Quincy, 111. Although he suffered a
fractured leg, he remained on the
scene for more than 30 minutes,
hobbling from victim to victim and
performing the last rites of the Ro
man Catholic Church. He was re
moved to St. Charles Hospital when
other Catholic priests relieved him.
Casualties in Rail Wreck
By th« Associated Pres*
NAPERVILLE, 111., April 26.—
Following is the list of identified
casualties in the Burlington Rail
road wreck:
THE DEAD.
Abbott, Arthur, Berwyn, 111., din
ing car steward.
Anderson, A. H., Lincoln, Nebr
Bentler, Joe, Fort Madison or
West Point, Iowa.
Brown, R. V., Chicago.
Boon, Delbert, Luray, Mo.
Crayton, E. H., 45, Galesburg, 111.
Chamberlain, Charles, Chicago.
Carr, Daniel Nathaniel, Chicago.
Conner, Everett Eugene, South
Bend, Ind.
Collins, Mrs. Charlotte, 71, Hanni-i
bal. Mo.
Dickhut, Kenneth W., San Diego,!
Calif.
Farley, Mary A., Omaha, Nebr.
Flotkoetter, Kay Lummis, Chi-1
cago.
Howard, Richard E., discharged
sailor.
King. E. A.. Chicago.
Lane, Albert J., 56, Chicago.
Long, Harry W, ex-serviceman,
21, Burlington, Iowa.
Lett, Elza. Kenova, W. Va.
Lawrence. Mr. and Mrs. Matthew,1
Escanaba, Mich.
Langen, Mrs. Mary, 45, Quincy, 111.
Miller, A1 N., 37, Chicago.
Moos, Lep P., Moorhead, Minn.
Mennen, Mrs. P. L. <Mayme),
Burlington, Iowa.
Nian, Mr., no address available.
Ralston, John Nicholas, Des
Plaines, 111.
Robinson, Fred, 62, Council
Bluffs, Iowa.
Rohr, Abraham, 75, Chicago.
Rohr, Mrs. Elizabeth, Chicago.
Sherwood, E. Read, Chicago and
New Orleans.
S'nutz, Emily, Lowland, 111.
Sromovsky, Mrs. Sophie, 29, Plym
outh, Pa.
Takashima, Lucy, Quincy, 111.
Voss. E. H., Seaman 1/c, address
unknown.
Whitehead. Russell L„ Weymouth,
Mass.
Wiley, Mrs. A. J., Chicago.
Wiley, Raudy, 2. Chicago.
Wiley, Perry, 4, Chicago. «,
Wilson, Mrs. Florence, State Col
lege, Pa. j
Yarborough. Clifford, 58, Alton.
111.
THE INJURED.
Brown, Ernest, 43, Chicago, cook
on Exposition Flyer, not serious.
Blaine, W. W.. 68, Galesburg, 111.,
engineer on Exposition Flyer, not
serious.
Braxton, Ellis, 38, Chicago, train
porter, not serious.
Butler, Charles W. 50. Chicago,
cook on Advance Flyer.
Chaney, Thomas, 20, Council
Bluffs, Iowa, condition serious.
Cook, Mrs. Irene, 20, Cohoes, N. Y.,
not serious.
Cooper, Mattie, 82, Hutsonville, 111.
not serious.
Cater, Vernon, 42. dining car
waiter, Chicago, not serious.
Donegan, Don, 48, Chicago, train
cook.
Drennan, C. O., Aurora, 111.
Evjeen, Mrs. John O., Carthage,1
111., fractured left leg, critical.
Faber, Henry, 28, Keokuk. Iowa,'
condition not serious.
Faber, Mrs. Henry, 27, Keokuk,;
Iowa, hurt badly.
Greenbaum, Sol, 27, St Louis, not'
serious.
Hovey, Mrs. Anne, Keokuk, Iowa,
not critical.
Henne, Mrs. Clara, Omaha, Nebr.
Jaeger, Raymond, 21, Pfc., Burl
ington, Iowa, not serious.
Kyer, Mrs. Ruth, Hannibkl, Mo.,
not serious.
Melton, W. A., Chicago, not
serious.
"When it conies to
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2437 18th St., N.W.—CO. 6088
Circulation, March, 1946
(Average net paid)
The Evening Star..215,792
The Sunday Star..__230,738
(95.5% in City and Tradlm Area)
k
McCloud, Julius, Chicago, dining
car waiter on Exposition Flyer, con
dition undetermined.
McIntosh, John J., San Diego,
Calif., minor back injuries.
McBride, William E., 26, Chicago,
train waiter.
Peters, Miss Ruth, Washington.
D. C„ fractured legs, shock, condi
tion critical.
Ringgold, H E., Scarsdale, N. Y.
Sayler, Leona, 1526 Seventeenth
street, Washington, D. C„ critical.
Sromovsky, MSgt. John A., 29,
Fort Robinson, Nebr., not serious.
Sumpter, Harrison. 38, Chicago,
train waiter.
Sexton, Dexter A., Mount Ayr,
Iowa, condition critical.
Velesz, Rev. Dunston, St. Francis
College, Quincy, 111., not serious. j
Whitehouse, Mrs. Florence, 46,
Cohoes, N. Y.. right leg amputated,
condition critical.
Wreck
< Continued From First Page.!
"I’m going to stop that train be
hind us.”
But before he had walked a do'
steps the Exposition Flyer crash
into the stalled train.
The diner ahead of the telescop
rear coach was torn into a heap c
twisted steel and debris. The third
car from the end was half over
turned and the fourth car was com
pletely overturned.
The Red Cross quickly set up dis
aster relief headquarters at the
scene and help dame from all sides.
Across the tracks, hundreds of
workers in a furniture factory
rushed to give aid, 50 students at
North Central College quit classes
to serve as litter bearers. Uninjured
passengers worked feverishly to ren
der aid to the scores of victims.
Doctors Race to Scene.
In a few minutes, doctors, nurses
and ambulances were racing to the
scene from neighboring communi
ties. Rescue lines were formed and
a warehouse was converted into a
temporary hospital where the in
jured were given first aid. The
more serious cases were taken to,
hospitals in nearby Aurora.
Edward Flynn, executive vice
president of the railroad, said the
automatic signal systems had been
functioning properly. The unsched
uled stop by the Advance Flyer was
made when trouble developed in the
undercarriage of the train, he said.
Investigations continued today by
the railroad and by the Du Page
County, coroner and State’s at
torney.
Thousands of curious jammed
highways and every street in Naper
ville during the afternoon and
night. , Hundreds remained in the
early morning hours as workmen
sought to clear the wreckage.
D. C. Man Receives
Medal of Freedom
For his work in devising a comput
ing formula for more efficient bomb
ing operations in the Southwest
Pacific, Robert Dorfman, 1432 Girard
street N.W., a civilian operations
analyist in the War Department,;
received the Medal of Freedom
today at Bolling Field, it was an
nounced at Strategic Air Command
headquarters.
The Medal of Freedom, given only
to civilians, ranks second to the
Medal for Merit as an award, but is
confined to achievement in work
overseas.
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NAPERVILLE. ILL.—WHERE CRACK TRAINS RAMMED—Air
view of the wreckage left in the wake of the collision yesterday
of the Advance and Exposition Flyers of the Burlington Rail
road. The Exposition Flyer, following the Advance Flyer by three
minutes, plowed into the rear of the first train. The locomotive
telescoping the rear coach. —AP Wirephoto.
Churchill Pays Tribute
To Winant as Envoy
By the Associated Preri
LONDON, April 26. — Winston
Churchill, paying warm tribute to
John G. Winant. retiring Ameri
can Ambassador, said at a dinner
last night that no ambassador “ever
came closer to the heart of Britain.”
A select group of 65 men, all
British leaders, sitting around a
horseshoe table in the Egyptian
Hall of Mansion House, responded
enthusiastically to a toast by Prime
tinister Attlee, calling Mr. Winant
inequaled” as an ambassador
hotias commanded * * * the love
the people of his country.”
Impulsive Boy Burglar Caught
By Police Just as'lmpulsive
A 16-year-old boy who told police
he “suddenly wanted to try his
hand” at housebreaking was arrested
at 3:30 a.m. today by two scout
car officers who saw him examining
a wallet on the street and decided
it might be the one involved in a
theft they were on their way to
investigate.
Policemen J. H. Knott and Virgil
C. Rutsaw of No. 8 precinct said
they made the arrest after the
boy, under questioning, gave his
name as “Martin” when the initials
"J. M. D." were on the wallet, which
contained personal papers.
When confronted with the dis
crepancy. he first said he found the
wallet, but finally admitted stealing
it and a purse containing $4.50 from
the apartment of Mr. and Mrs. John
M. Downey, at 2704 Porter street
N. W.. according to police. After Mr.
Downey identified the wallet as his,
police said the boy showed them
where he had thrown Mrs. Downey's
purse into nearby bushes.
He explained that he suddenly
decided to break into the house
while looking for friends in the
neighborhood and that he had never
done such a thing before and had
no reason to do so because a sister
and brother-in-law with whom- he
lived in Northeast Washington gave
him spending money.
Police who sent the boy to the
Receiving Home said he was a stu
dent at Stuart Junior High School
and that his parents were dead.
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Three District Women
Among Casualties in
Illinois Train Wreck
Three Washington women were
among those injured yesterday in
the collision of two crack trains at
Naperville. 111., according to rela
tives and friends of the trio.
Most seriously injured was Miss
Leona Sayler, 28, of 1526 Seven
teenth street N.W., whose condition
was described as “critical” at St.
Charles’ Hospital, Aurora, 111., ac
cording to the Associated Press.
Also injured were Miss Ruth
Peters, about 42, of 3810 Benton
street N.W., and Mrs. Herbert Blom
quist, 1445 Ogden street N.W.
Miss Peters, a piano teacher, was
[reported to be in Copley Hospital,
Aurora, with both legs fractured
land suffering from shock.
Mrs. Blomquist, according to in
formation received by her sister-in
|law, Mrs. Love Davis, 3502 Reservoir
road N.W., received a gash on the
face in the accident. Indication
that Mrs. Blomquist was not seri
ously hurt was contained in a report
that she had wired a family in Ne
braska early today that she would
arrive there on “a later train.” Her
name was not on the 'Associated
Press casualty list,
i Miss Sayler, a clerk in the Navy
Department’s Bureau of Aeronau
tics, was en route to her home in
Brunswick, Nebr., after having left
Washington Wednesday evening for
Chicago, Miss Esther Schenck, her
roommate, said today.
Miss Peters, who maintained stu
dios in her home, was reported to
| have left Washington a week ago to
j visit her mother, Mrs. C. E. Peters
I of Quincy, 111. Mrs. Davis said Miss
Peters lived alone and had been a
resident of the neighborhood about
10 years. She had intended to at
jtend a conservatory of music in
i Chicago before going to Quincy, Mrs.
Davis said.
Mrs. Blomquist was en route to
ithe funeral of her father-in-law in
Omaha, Nebr. Her husband, a for
|mer FBI agent, was*recently dis
charged from the Army and is now
in Brazil representing an American
, firm, her brother said.
MRS. H. A. BLOMQUIST.
MISS LEONA B. SAYLER.
—Harris & Ewing Photos.
McGurk to Address
Diplomatic Reception
Joseph McGurk, United States
Ambassador to the Dominican Re
public. will address the annual re
ception in honor of members of the
diplomatic corps from Latin Ameri
can countries at 8:15 p.m. Monday,
given by the Washington General
Assembly, Fourth Degree, Knights of
Columbus, at the Mayflower Hotel.
Dr. Hector David Castro, Ambas
sador of El Salvador, is honorary
chairman of the committee in
charge.
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