Miscellaneous

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A Sad Accident

Boston Express Crashes into Automobile at Bainbridge Grade

Crossing Sunday--Two Killed

published in Globe, October 11, 1913

 

An automobile carrying a party of eight persons was struck by the Boston Express on the Delaware & Hudson Railroad at the Scott street crossing in Bainbridge on Sunday morning.  The party was out for a pleasure trip and was composed of Mr. and Mrs. Guy Wylie and two children, Marion and John, of Coventry [Chenango Co., NY] and Mr. and Mrs. George Goodenough and their two children, Doris and Gordon, of Afton [Chenango Co., NY].  The car was a new Buick recently purchased in Norwich by Mr. Wylie who was driving the car. 

 

It was about 11 o'clock when the party approached the crossing, up a cinder filled grade, their view of the swiftly approaching train cut off by an embankment and curve.  The car was caught squarely on the crossing.  Little John Wylie was pinned under the car and his skull crushed, death being instantaneous.  Mr. Wylie was fatally injured.  Mrs. Wylie was thrown high, landing on the pilot of the locomotive where she was carried a considerable distance down the track before the train could be stopped.  Their little daughter, Marion, suffered a broken hip.  Mr. Goodenough had both legs broken.  Mrs. Goodenough was catapulted out of the car into a yard 40 feet away.  Their little daughter, Doris, escaped with an abrasion of the upper lip and their son, Gordon, aged 6, jumped to safety just before the crash came, receiving only a slight cut.

 

The lad ran into the Payne residence in the yard of which his mother had fallen and cried, "Please come out and help my mother, she's hurt awfully bad."  Mrs. Goodenough, who sustained severe internal injuries, was carried into the house.  Mrs. Wylie was removed unconscious from the pilot of the locomotive and carried to the home of John Cowles, some distance from the crossing but opposite which the train was brought to a standstill.

 

Telephone calls brought several doctors to the scene and all of the injured were made as comfortable as possible for their removal to the Fox Memorial Hospital at Oneonta.  Coroner Morse of Oxford, viewed the body of the dead lad and the remains were taken to undertaking rooms in Bainbridge.  Mr. Wylie died in the hospital Sunday night.  Mrs. Wylie may recover but the condition of Mrs. Goodenough is critical.  Mr. Goodenough and Marion Wylie are both doing nicely.  Mr. Wylie and Mrs. Goodenough were brother and sister and he was a brother of Mrs. W.A. Baldwin, of Norwich, and a cousin of Samuel Wylie, of Oxford.  He was highly esteemed in Coventry, where he resided.  Funeral services conducted by the Afton Masonic Lodge were held on Tuesday at Afton.

 

The Scott street crossing where the accident happened has been considered very dangerous for years.  Mrs. William Darby was killed there by a train two months ago and an aged man and his horse met death at the same place some time before.  Opinions differ as to the blowing of the locomotive whistle in warning of the crossing on Sunday morning.  Engineer Patten is positive he blew the whistle and is corroborated by Conductor P.J. Connors.  Some of the passengers and residents near the crossing state that they heard no warning signal.  A strong wind from the south made it difficult for the occupants of the car to hear the whistle if it was blown. 

 

The automobile party had been to Unadilla in the morning and paid a brief visit to Mrs. Williams, a sister-in-law of Mr. Wylie....Some of the party had expressed a desire to visit a new dairy building on the other side of the railroad tracks and they were on the way there when they were run down by the passenger train which was moving at a high rate of speed.