1952 — Aug 4, Two Greyhound Buses Collide Head-on, Burn, near Waco, TX             —     28

1952 — Aug 4, Two Greyhound Buses Collide Head-on, Burn, near Waco, TX — 28

–28 Abilene Reporter-News, TX. “Bus Crash Kills at Least 28.” 8-5-1952, p. 1.
–28 Jackson. Hounds of the Road. 1984, 118.
–28 National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. 1983, p. 140.
–28 National Safety Council. Accident Facts 1970 Edition. Chicago, IL: NSC, 1970. p. 63.
–28 Star-Telegram, Fort Worth. “Bus in crash…on road illegally; 16th persons dies.” 8-9-2008
–28 Wikipedia. “Greyhound Lines, Notable Incidents and Accidents.”

Narrative Information

Jackson: “The worst [Greyhound bus] accident – to that time – occurred in August, 1952, when two Greyhounds collided head-on near Waco, Texas. Twenty-eight people, including the two drivers, perished in that crash….The weather was clear and it was near dawn on Highway 81 between San Antonio and Dallas. Within seconds of that impact, fuel tanks on both vehicles exploded, turning the entire scene into a ghastly ball of fire. Miraculously, twenty-five people escaped with their lives, though most were badly burned or injured in other ways. The Dallas-bound bus apparently crossed over the south lane, and caused the tragedy. The Interstate Commerce Commission investigated the crash for two months. It concluded that twenty-four-year-old driver Milburn Herring, was dozing, causing the accident.” (Jackson 1984, p. 118.)

National Fire Protection Association: “Aug 4, 1952. Two interstate buses collided head-on near the crest of a small hill on U.S. Route No. 81 about 7½ miles from Waco, Texas. Twenty-eight were killed (including both drivers) and 22 injured of the 53 aboard both buses. Fire was instantaneous as fuel tanks, centrally located under passenger seats, were ripped open. One bus was diesel fueled, the other gasoline fueled.” (National Fire Protection Association. “Highway Fires.” Quarterly of the NFPA, Vol. 47, No. 4, April 1954, p. 365.)

Newspapers

Aug 4: “Waco, Tex., Aug. 4 (AP) — Death by fire and injuries claimed at least 28 persons today in the worst two-bus collision in the nation’s history. On a clear stretch of highway and with no other vehicles known to be involved, two Greyhound buses smashed together head-on. Within seconds, exploding fuel tanks transformed the buses into towering funeral pyres. The heat was so intense that melted glass flowed in small rivulets onto the pavement. Some passengers were entirely cremated. At least 25 passengers were injured. Five were missing…

“What caused the crash, and the exact number of dead, may never be known. There were few clues in the rubbish-like remains of the big buses.

“Counting the dead was a grisly task assigned to a Waco funeral home where pieces of charred bodies — here a detached foot, there a burned torso — were carried. Scorched letters from purses, seared remains of clothing, luggage tags, servicemen’s “dog tags” worn smooth from contact with once-warm skin — those also were clues.

“It was about 4 a.m. with dawn less than two hours away, that M. B. Herring of Waco wheeled his big northbound bus, enroute from San Antonio to Dallas, toward his home town. Over a slight rise on two-lane Highway 81 and approaching him Billy Malone of Waco was at the wheel of his southbound bus, enroute from Dallas to San Antonio… Malone’s bus was about 100 yards past the crest of the small hill when someone screamed “Look out!” It was too late.

“The National Safety Council in Chicago reported that what followed — at least 28 dead — was the worst bus accident on council records….

“Greyhound officials said about 41 were aboard the southbound bus. Late Monday they were checking all points on the schedule of the northbound bus to determine how many were aboard. An early estimate was made of 20 passengers. Malone and Herring, the two drivers, died in today’s crash. A ticket punch, a cap emblem, and a driver’s badge were the only objects found in the driver’s seat of Malone’s bus.

“Highway 81 is a popular route between Dallas and San Antonio especially for servicemen returning to Texas’ many military installations after week-end leaves. Many servicemen were among today’s dead and injured. “I hope I never see anything like that again,” said Cpl. Barney R. Harris, returning to Ft. Hood after visiting his folks in Oklahoma City. “Overseas you grow to expect that. You might say we asked for it. But those poor people didn’t ask for it. They screamed and I couldn’t help.”…

“Her brown eyes wide with fright, 14-year-old Matilda Zamoudio told how an unidentified young Negro soldier snatched her from burning death. “I didn’t want to go …. I didn’t want to go,” she sobbed from her hospital bed. “I wanted to stay with my mother and father.”
But Matilda won’t see her parents again. Because they burned to death. The Zamoudios’ were on their way to Mexico….

“Among the first persons on the scene were two Waco policemen — H. C. Garland and J. K. Smith. “When we got there it looked like only one bus involved,” Garland said, “because they were so jammed together. Both were on fire, blazing sky high. There were bodies scattered over the road and in the ditches, some of them were on fire.” “The first bodies I saw that could be recognized as such were two small children. They were lying together. Both of their little bodies were afire. It was horrible. There were other bodies burning and some just smouldering”.” (Abilene Reporter-News, TX. “Bus Crash Kills at Least 28.” 8-5-1952, p. 1.)

Wikipedia: “In Greyhound’s deadliest accident, two Greyhound buses collided head-on along the then U.S. Route 81 near Waco, Texas. The fuel tanks of both buses then ruptured, bursting into flames. Of the 56 persons aboard both coaches, 28 were killed, including both drivers.”

Sources

Abilene Reporter-News, TX. “Bus Crash Kills at Least 28.” 8-5-1952, p. 1. Accessed at: http://www.newspaperarchive.com/FullPagePdfViewer.aspx?img=76894923

Jackson, Carlton. Hounds of the Road: A History of the Greyhound Bus Company (2nd Edition). Popular Press, 1984, 214 pages. Partially digitized by Google. Accessed at: http://books.google.com/books?id=23Pwrh-GEOMC

National Fire Protection Association. “Highway Fires.” Quarterly of the National Fire Protection Association, Vol. 47, No. 4, April 1954, pp. 365-390.

National Fire Protection Association. The 1984 Fire Almanac. Quincy, MA: NFPA, 1983.

National Safety Council. “Greatest Number of Deaths in a Single Motor-Vehicle Accident.” Accident Facts 1970 Edition. Chicago, IL: NSC, 1970. p. 63.

Star-Telegram, Fort Worth, TX. “Bus in crash was on road illegally; 16th persons dies.” 8-9-2008. Accessed at: http://www.saferoads.org/bus-crash-was-road-illegally-16th-person-dies

Wikipedia. “Greyhound Lines, Notable Incidents and Accidents.” Accessed 4-26-2009 at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_Lines