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Show ITHIRTEEN DEAD IN TRAIN CRASH ENGINEER FAILS TO SEE SIGNAL i SET AGAINST HIM AND COLLISION ENSUES 1 I Those Killed On Account of Fog; Are Four White Men of Crew; Others Were Negro Passengers I New Oreleans. Thirteen persons lost their lives in a wreck early Sunday Sun-day when two fast mall trains of the Southern Pacific railroad collided during dur-ing a fog at Rlcohoc, La., between Franklin and Patterson. Four of the dead were white men, the other negro ne-gro passengers. Five were seriously Injured. According to an official report, No 12, eastbound, ran by a signal in a fog and crashed into No. 109,, westbound, west-bound, a about 3 a. m. The dead included Frank Stafford, news butcher; K. D. Conery, engineer, and Frank Nebily, fireman on No. J 10!); August Aupast, baggageman of 1 No. 12, and nine negro passengers, i Others riding on the trains were shak-! shak-! en up. The bodies of the dead were taken to Franklin, where an Inquest was conducted. The injured were taken to Patterson. The engineer and fireman on No. 12 and three negro passengers were reported seriously injured. The official report said Engineer Mathews of the eastbound San Antonio An-tonio express came through the fog and passed the switch signal at Rico-hoc, Rico-hoc, where he was scheduled to have put in for the westbound mail. About 900 feet past the switch the two trains came together. The baggage car and the front passenger pas-senger coach of No. 12 telescoped. The negroes occupied the coach. The tender and baggage coach of No. 10!) also telescoped. Engineer Mathews telephoned railroad rail-road officials he was badly hurt. He whs said to have stated he beijf.me lost in the fog and did not know he had passed the switch. Conery, with forty-two years on the Southern Pacific and second oldest engineer in point of service, had made preparations to retire soon. Stafford, the newsboy, was making his first trip, having started out from Houston. At the inquest at Franklin, it was testified No. 12 had orders to wait at Ricohoc switch for No. 109, but that Engineer Mathews made no attempt at-tempt to stop at the east end of the switch, and although his conductor, ; Crane, signaled him three times to ; stop and finally put on air, the train was struck by No. 109 before it came to a stop, having run over the switch. When questioned, the engineer sau'l he had missed the block because of j the fog. Sunday's fire was one of seven apparently ap-parently incendiary blazes within a ! period of 24 hours, according to police j records. I Police Sunday were searching for a ; man. who. garbed in the white uni-; form of a baker, turned in the alarm : for the Fast 47th street blaze and leu disappeared. |