Springfield, Illinois, Tuesday, March 18, 1930 Journal Register
TRAIN KILLS 3 NEAR MANCHESTER
TRUCK LOADED WITH HAY IS HIT BY LIMITED
No Eye-Witnesses To Crash;
Victims Were Residents Of Scott County
By John N. Ferguson
Manchester, March 17. -
Three men riding on a load of hay were killed instantly at 2:30 o'clock this afternoon when they were struck by the south bound California Limited of the Chicago and Alton, traveling at a speed of 60 miles an hour, one and one half miles northeast of here.
The dead:
HENRY HARRIS, 37.
RALPH C. CURTIS, 52.
VINCENT GIDNEY, 27.
The victims all resided in Manchester.
The speeding passenger locomotive struck the truck squarely. The bodies of the three men were thrown fifty feet and remnants of the truck were scattered hundreds of feet along the right of way.
Harris Owner of Truck.
Henry Harris was the driver and owner of the truck. The three men had been to the farm of Ralph C. Curtis to get a load of hay and were proceeding west when they drove into the path of the flyer at the Thomas crossing. There were no eye-witnesses to the tragedy. Members of the train crew who testified at the inquest conducted by Coroner W. E. Coultas of Winchester in Manchester tonight, said that they were not aware of the truck until they felt the shock of the collision and saw the flying hay and wreckage. Witnesses testified that the crossing was an open one with a clear view of the track in both directions. Whether the truck stalled on the track or the driver misjudged the speed of the train is not known.
Bodies Badly Cut.
The bodies of the three men were badly cut and all were dead, when members of the train crew reached them. The train was in charge of Conductor Silson of Roodhouse and Engineer H. I. Day of Bloomington. Both were called as witnesses by Coroner Coultas at the inquest. The investigation started at 6 o'clock this evening and continued until nearly midnight. At the conclusion of the testimony a verdict was returned fixing the time and cause of death but attaching no blame to anyone for the accident. The remains of Curtis and Gidney were taken to the Gawdy funeral home in White Hall, and that of Harris was removed to the Reeves & Mackey establishment in Roodhouse. Funeral arrangements have not been completed.
Well Known in Vicinity.
All of the victims were well known in the vicinity of Manchester. Harris is survived by his wife, Lucille Hardy Harris, and one daughter, Hazel, residing in Manchester. He is survived by other relatives in Kansas, where he lived previous to coming to this locality. Curtis is survived by his wife, Sarah (Frances) McConnell Curtis; his mother, Mrs. Ella Curtis of Manchester; two brothers, Roy of Alsey and James of Waverly, and three sisters, Mrs. Walter Scott of Winchester and Mrs. William Henderson, Roodhouse, and Mrs. Otis Cooper of Fullerton, Calif. Vincent Gidney was unmarried. He is survived by his mother, Mrs. Belle Gidney of Manchester; one brother, Harry Gidney, city marshal of Manchester; two sisters, Miss Pearl Gidney, Jacksonville, and Mrs. Elmer Elred of Roodhouse.
Submitted by: Cheryl (Curtis) Behrend