OCR Text |
Show MORE THAN FIFTY HURT IN PUNTA GORDA WRECK Railroad Officials Unable to Account for Derailing of Train on Level Track, . SANTA BARBARA, June 1, In the disastrous wreck of tbe southbound coast limited on the Southern Pacific Saturday at Punta Gorda, fifteen miles east of this city, more than fifty persons per-sons were injured, two probably fatally. fa-tally. , Mrs. H. C. Smith of Los Angeles An-geles will probably die from her severe j injuries, and Frank Christmas, a San j Francisco traveling man, is in a serious condition. He is suffering from internal inter-nal Injuries as well as external cuts and bruises. The wreck wss a most unusual one and railroad officials are undecided as to its cause. The train was running about 40 miles an hour on a straight track when the cars left the rails. The roadbed was in first-class condition and the rails were of the new pound variety. va-riety. The track was torn up for a distance of an eighth of a mile. It Is supposed that the rails spread, although Engineer Cure does not credit this theory. He asserts that he felt a severe Jar when the engine passed over the spot where the cars left the rails. He applied the air-brakes instantly and the train was brought to a stop quickly. The three rear coaches, the parlor car. the diner and a chair car left the rails and rolled down the steep cliff to the surf of the ocean Immediately below. A fourth coach was dragged to the edge of the embankment, where it broke loose and hung qo the brink of the precipice. The parlor and dining cars turned completely com-pletely over twice and landed In an upright up-right position at the edge of the ocean. Every window In the derailed cars was broken. The seats were wrenched from their fastenings and- otherwise wrecked. Fortunately, however, the framework of the heavy coaches held together. To this fact Is due the escape of the passengers pass-engers from death. The confusion that followed the plunge of the cars to the ocean beach was tremendous. tre-mendous. Those who were able to crawl from the windows and drop to the sandy beach quickly went to the aid of the Injured. The forward part of the train was brought to a stop quickly quick-ly and returned to the scene. A score of physicians were summoned and the relief took them to the wreck. The physicians found about 40 persons per-sons lying on the sandy beach and on the embankment above the wrecked cars. Their hurts were dressed and the most severely injured carried Into tbe car and brought to this city. |