Decatur County Journal
Leon, Decatur County, Iowa
Thursday, April 28, 1910

A bad wreck occurred last Friday afternoon on the Grand City branch of the Burlington and five men were injured. Five freight cars and the caboose of a freight train left the rails at the Lotts Creek bridge not far from Mt. Ayr, the caboose turning clear over. Five men who occupied the caboose at the time were painfully bruised up. Fortunately there was no fire in the car at the time and thus a fire that might have resulted in death of the passengers was avoided. When the caboose left the track and rolled over the stove was thrown upon the conductor and he was pinned beneath the weight of the stove. The other men in the car were also caught in such a way that none of them were able to reach the door and they were not rescued until the fireman came back from the engine and after getting the door of the car open rescued the men.

The wreck was witnessed by the inhabitants of a farm house near by and Dr. Lesan, who happened to be making a call at a farm about one mile from the wreck, was notified. He hurried to the scene of the wreck and after making the injured men as comfortable as possible they were loaded into a car and taken to Mt. Ayr where their injuries were given attention. The injured are:

G.R. WILLIAMS, a hardware merchant of Blockton, Iowa, left arm and elbow severely bruised, injury to left side of chest, cut on top of head requiring several stitches. He was the most seriously injured.

GEORGE W. POWELL, bridge man for the Q. Of Albany, Mo., back of head bruised cut in front of ear and cut and bruised on the right leg.

S.F. SPURRIER, slight bruises. Mr. SPURRIER was the most lucky of all the passengers.

H. BELL, conductor, slight cuts and bruises about left eye, right shoulder and chest bruised and injured.

B.A. LINCH, brakeman, left knee and shoulder injured.

R.S. WORTHINGTON, traveling man, right thumb dislocated and right leg injured.

Transcription by Nancee (McMurtrey) Seifert, November 9 of 2009