1949 — April 24, train hits family truck at railroad crossing, 8M south of Carthage, TN– 10
–10 Associated Press. “Train Smashes Truck, Ten Die.” Kingsport Times, TN, 4-25-1949, p. 1.
–10 Wikipedia. “List of rail accidents (1940-1949).”
Narrative Information
Wikipedia: “April 24 – United States – Smith County, Tennessee, Gordonsville,[1] 10 persons were killed coming home from church at approximately 10:30 pm[2] when a loaded locomotive hit them at a high speed. The family, in two trucks [inaccurate; one truck], was returning from church services. The driver, Jessie Bennett, aged 50, was blind in one eye. He was killed along with his wife, 45, and three of their sons, aged 12, 10, and 8. Also killed were the Bennett’s daughter, 24, her husband, 24, their daughter, aged 1, the brother of the driver, aged 49, and a close family friend, 17.”[3]
Newspaper
April 25, AP: “Carthage, Tenn. – AP – A fast freight train rammed a truck crowded with Sunday worshipers at a crossing near here last night, killing 10 persons – nine in the one family – and seriously injuring another. The truck burst into flames and was dragged some 100 yards down the track before the speeding Tennessee Central diesel could come to a halt. Some of the dead were scattered along the tracks, while the rest were pinned in the cab of the truck. All eleven were returning from church services to their homes at Hogan’s Creek when the accident occurred at the Gordonsville-Lancaster Road crossing about eight miles south of here.
“Instantly Killed were: [We break paragraphs into one-line entries.]
Jess Bennett, 50, driver;
His wife, Mattie Bell Bennett, 45, and their sons,
Douglas, 12,
U.L., 10, and
Melvin Earl, eight.
Mrs. Paulie Bennett Dickens, 24, daughter of the Bennetts,
Her husband, Paulie Bennett, 27,
and their one-year-old daughter, Catherine.
- E. (Coonie) Bennett, 40, Jess Bennett’s brother.
Miss Linnie Gibbs, 17…
“Ruth Robinson, the sole survivor, was hospitalized at Lebanon. Doctors said she suffered a broken pelvic bone….
“State Safety Commissioner Sam Neal, who hurried to the scene, said the train ripped the ton and a half form truck in two. He said it appeared five persons were seated in the cab and six on chairs set up in the back.
“A son-in-law of the Bennetts, John Overstreet, told Commissioner Neal he had stopped his car at the crossing to let some passengers out when the truck came up behind him. ‘I knew the train was coming,’ he told Neal. ‘I tried to wave the truck down, but my father-in-law pulled around me and went on in front of the train.’
“A conductor of the train, the TC No. 81, said none of the crew saw the truck until it loomed up before the lights of the engine.
“The wreck, one of the worst such disasters in this area in years, brought all available ambulances from Carthage and Gordonsville. Attendants worked feverishly for more than an hour to remove bodies from the wreckage. And workers toiled into the morning with crowbars and acetylene torches to cut the body of the smashed cab from beneath the engine of the train.” (Associated Press. “Train Smashes Truck, Ten Die.” Kingsport Times, TN, 4-25-1949, p. 1.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Train Smashes Truck, Ten Die.” Kingsport Times, TN, 4-25-1949, p. 1. Accessed 9-6-2023 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/kingsport-times-apr-25-1949-p-1/
Wikipedia. “List of rail accidents (1940-1949).” Accessed 9-6-2023 at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_rail_accidents_(1940%E2%80%931949)#cite_note-138
[1] Gordonsville is about seven miles south by southeast of Carthage.
[2] April 28, 1949 TN Carthage Courier News Paper.
[3] April 26, 1949 Tennessean and May 1949 Tennessean.
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