1943 — Dec 14, War worker bus and tractor trailer collide, bus burns, near Campbell, NY-11
— 11 Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “Adjourn Inquest in Fatal Wreck…” 12-17-1943, p. 2.
— 11 Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “Eleven Die in Bus-Truck Crash.” 12-14-1943, p. 1.
— 11 Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Car Plunge Kills 11.” 11-4-1963, p. 1.
— 11 Troy Record, NY. “Truck Driver Held for Fatal Crash.” 12-16-1943, p. 18.
— 11 Wellsboro Agitator, PA. “Eleven Killed in Bus Crash.” 12-15-1943, p. 1.
Narrative Information
Dec 14: “Bath, N.Y., Dec 14 – (UP) – Eleven war workers were killed and several injured today when a bus carrying approximately 20 workers[1] to the Ingersoll-Rand plant at Painted Post, N. Y., collided midway between Bath and Corning[2] ‘with a truck-trailer, overturning the bus and trapping the victims in the burning vehicle.
“Orville Putnam of Avoca, driver of the bus, was killed instantly. Coroner James J. Sanford of Bath attempted to establish identity of the dead passengers, six of whom, he said, were burned to death, many beyond recognition, and the other five thrown out of the bus and killed instantly.
“The identified Dead
Orville Putnam, Avoca, N. Y.
Fred Rice, Savona, N. Y.
Francis Fisher, Bath, N. Y.
Leon Towner, 50, Wallace, N. Y.
Malcolm Ferguson, Avoca,
John Mauth, 27, Avoca.
“….Driver of the truck, which was owned by the Keeshin Motor Express Co., of Chicago, was Daniel Maroney. 31, of Binghamton, N.Y., who was taken to the Bath Memorial hospital, where his condition was reported not serious.
“Maroney told Sheriff Benjamin H. Balcom of Bath that the bus had been on the wrong side of the road and that he had tried to avoid hitting it by driving up an embankment but had been forced down to the road again. Authorities were searching for tracks on the embankment.
“After the collision the bus was said to have teetered down the road, overturned and skidded about 200 feet. The vehicle finally was thrown onto a bank, where, according to Gilbert Quick of
Campbell, who heard the crash and rushed to the scene, the gas-tank of the bus exploded, enveloping the bus in flames.
“A temporary morgue was established by Coroner Sanford at the Fagan funeral parlor at Bath.
“Investigating, besides Sheriff Balcom and Coroner Sanford, were other members of the sheriff’s office and state troopers.” (Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “Eleven Die in Bus-Truck Crash.” 12-14-1943, p. 1.)
Dec 15: “Eleven Bath area war workers, on their way to…Painted Post, were crushed or burned to death at 5:30 a.m. yesterday when a bus and truck-trailer collided at the junction of Route 15 and the Campbell road, a mile east of Campbell. Eight others were removed to hospitals. Nearby residents who reached the wreckage soon after the crash said the scene was one of indescribable horror. Bodies were scattered along the concrete highway for 200 feet, while in the over-turned bus five men could be seen in the seething gasoline flames.
“Eight of the 11 dead have been identified as follows: [we leave out names noted above]
….William Timby, Avoca;
…Fred Rice, 42, Savona;
Benjamin Greenfield, 55, Avoca;
Warden Chapman, Bath.
“….After the collision, which threw it on its side, the bus slid 200 feet. The top was torn off in sections and most of the bodies spilled out, their clothing in flames.
“The bus, owned by Bill Platt, of Bath, and driven by Orville Putnam, of Avoca, operated daily between Avoca and Painted Post, usually carries 20 to 22 workers. The driver is missing and believed to be among the dead.
“The truck-trailer, carrying a five-ton load, was owned by the Keeshin Motor Express of Chicago and driven by Daniel Maroney, 31, of Binghamton, who had eight years’ experience with such vehicles. He was uninjured and the truck-trailer damaged only slightly. The truck driver was arrested.” (Wellsboro Agitator, PA. “Eleven Killed in Bus Crash.” 12-15-1943, p. 1.)
Dec 16: “Bath (UP) – Daniel Maroney, 31, of Binghamton, N. Y., driver of the trailer-truck which crashed into a bus loaded with war workers near here Tuesday, killing 11 men and injuring eight others, was free today on $500 bail pending a hearing tomorrow. Maroney, charged with criminal negligence, told authorities that he had driven up an embankment to avoid hitting the bus, which was headed for the Ingersoll-Rand Co. plant at Painted Post, N. Y., and which, according to Maroney, was on the wrong side of the road, but that the truck had been forced down on to the road again.
“Later, however, the truck driver told Sheriff Benjamin H. Slocum of Steuben County that his front wheels had started to vibrate just before the wreck and he had been unable to control his vehicle.
“One of the injured passengers in the bus, Mervin Drake, 33, of Avoca, N. Y., said the bus appeared to him to be on the wrong side of the road when the truck swerved into it “as if one of its tires had blown out.”
“Six of the dead, trapped in the bus when it overturned and burst into flames, were burned, many beyond recognition. The rest of the victims were thrown from the bus or dragged out by men who rushed to the scene.
“An inquest also was scheduled for today.” (Troy Record, NY. “Truck Driver Held for Fatal Crash.” 12-16-1943, p. 18.)
Dec 17: “Bath, Dec. 17 – (UP) – An inquest into the death of eleven war workers who were killed in a bus wreck near here Tuesday stood adjourned today until next Wednesday [Dec 22], following testimony by eight witnesses, including two survivors of the wreck.
“Daniel Maroney, 31, of Binghamton, driver of the trailer-truck which collided with the bus, refused to waive immunity when called to the stand and was not questioned. Maroney was free in $2,500 bail to await grand jury action on criminal negligence charges.
“Mervin Drake, 34, of Avoca, bus passenger who received minor injuries, testified under questioning by District Attorney John W. Hollis that the truck ‘shot for the bus when it was about 25 feet away.’ Drake said the truck appeared to have blown a tire.
“Trooper George Coveney of the Painted Post station, testified Maroney had told him he was driving about 40 miles an hour when the wreck occurred, and Ralph Titus, mechanic for the Keeshin Motor Express Co., Inc., owners of the truck, said there had been a speed governor on the tractor.
“Earlier, witnesses revealed that Maroney had been four hours late in leaving Binghamton because of repairs to the truck.
“The accident happened midway between Bath and Corning when the bus, headed for the Ingersoll-Rand Co. foundry at Painted Post, overturned and burned after it was struck by the truck.” (Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “Adjourn Inquest in Fatal Wreck until Wednesday.” 12-17-1943, p. 2.)
1963: “The record single traffic accident death toll for the state was believed set when 11 persons lost their lives in a bus-tractor trailer crash near Painted Post on Dec. 14, 1943.” (Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Car Plunge Kills 11.” 11-4-1963, p. 1.)
Sources
Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “Adjourn Inquest in Fatal Wreck until Wednesday.” 12-17-1943, p. 2. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=36040303&sterm
Dunkirk Evening Observer, NY. “Eleven Die in Bus-Truck Crash.” 12-14-1943, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=36040262&sterm=painted+post
Post-Standard, Syracuse, NY. “Car Plunge Kills 11.” 11-4-1963, p. 1. Accessed at:
http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=18565711&sterm
Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “Truck Driver Freed Under $2,500 Bond in Fatal Collision.” 12-17-1943, p. 19. At: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=23180519&sterm
Troy Record, NY. “Truck Driver Held for Fatal Crash.” 12-16-1943, p. 18. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=14216188&sterm=painted+post
Wellsboro Agitator, PA. “Eleven Killed in Bus Crash.” 12-15-1943, p. 1. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=12184033&sterm=painted+post
[1] Nineteen, according to the Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY of 12-17-1943, p. 19 (“Truck Driver Freed Under $2,500 Bond in Fatal Collision).
[2] About 12 miles southeast of Bath. Syracuse Herald-Journal, NY. “Truck Driver Freed Under $2,500 Bond in Fatal Collision,” 12-17-1943, p. 19.