1953 — May 29, Speeding Car and 10-ton Power Shovel collide, South China, ME            —       6

— 6  National Safety Council. Accident Facts 1970 Edition. 1970, p. 63.^[1]

— 6  Oakland Tribune, CA. “Six Cadets Die When Car Rams Power Shovel.” 5-30-1953, p. 2.

Narrative Information

May 30:  South China, Me., May 30. – (AP) – Six young Merchant Marine cadets were killed last night when their car careened around a curve and smashed head-on into a 10-ton power shovel. “I didn’t have time to do a thing,” said Floyd Brann, 46, who was driving the shovel to a construction site. “They were traveling so fast…”  Rear Adm. W. W. Warlick, superintendent of the Maine Maritime Academy at Castine, Me., said the young middies had been scheduled to march in a Memorial Day parade today, and broke regulations in going for a ride.”  (Oakland Tribune, CA. “Six Cadets Die When Car Rams Power Shovel.” 5-30-1953, p. 2.)

Sources

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

Oakland Tribune, CA. “Six Cadets Die When Car Rams Power Shovel.” 5-30-1953, p. 2. Accessed at: http://newspaperarchive.com/fullpagepdfviewer?img=32347976&sterm

[1] This was, as of 1970, according to the NSC, the deadliest “passenger car-road equipment” event in U.S. history.