1942 – Aug 5, bus hit by passenger train at railroad crossing, Crystal Springs, MS — 15
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 6-3-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
–15 AP. “Death Toll Now 15 In Bus, Train Crash At Crystal Springs.” Delta Democrat-Times.
–15 Greenvilleflyers.com. “The Crystal Springs Bus Tragedy – 15 Dead.” 9-28-2019.
Narrative Information
Greenvilleflyers.com. “The Crystal Springs Bus Tragedy – 15 Dead.” 9-28-2019: “On 5 Aug 1942, a bus bound for Greenville, MS, stopped at a railroad crossing in Crystal Springs, MS, for a passing freight train. The crossing included two sets of tracks. While waiting for the freight train to pass, the bus driver crept ahead onto the open track. Due to the crowded load of passengers and associated noise they were making, the bus driver was unaware of an approaching special troop train. When the driver noticed the approaching train, he attempted to clear the track. It was too late. The train impacted the right side of the bus sending it into the air and tearing off the roof of the bus in the process. Of the 52 passengers onboard, 15 were killed. An additional 3 passengers were in critical condition and described as “near death”, but ultimately survived.
“Of the 15 deceased, 4 were Aviation Cadets bound for Greenville Army Flying School. The deceased cadets were;
Richard H. M. Shinebarger, Erin, NY
John Milton Landt, Syracuse, NY
Geddie Roy Smathers, Jr., Charlotte, NC
William J. Rescorl, Seneca Falls, NY
“Richard H. M. Shinebarger’s wife, the former Wilma Betty Hutcheson, was also killed in the accident….”
Newspapers
Aug 5, Associated Press: “(By Associated Press). Crystal Springs, Miss., Aug 5. The collision of a train and passenger bus at a downtown intersection here today cost at least ten lives and injuries to probably thirty persons. The dead included:
Mrs. W. L. Dodds of Crystal Springs, who was waling near the scene of the crash.
Roscoe Smith of Brookhaven…
Three other persons taken to a funeral home here, but not immediately identified.
Three men and a woman who were taken to a Jackson hospital.
“.…Witnesses said the bus was completely demolished and hurled across a road.” (Associated Press. “Ten Die in Collision. Crystal Springs Train And Bus Crash Hurts 30.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 8-5-1942, p. 1.)
Aug 6, AP: “Crystal Springs, Miss., Aug 6 (AP) – Two more deaths today brought to 15 the toll of a bus-passenger train collision here yesterday. More than 30 of the 52 persons in the bus were injured in the wreck at a downtown intersection of this southern Mississippi city. Efforts were continuing today to identify the bodies of two women taken to Jackson, Miss., funeral parlors after the crash.
“Witnesses said the impact was so terrific that the engine in the rear part of the bus was torn out, the top ripped off and dead and injured strewn along the track. The train was not derailed and its passengers suffered no serious hurts….
“H. T. Morton of Crystal Springs, a bus passenger, said the driver stopped for a northbound freight to clear the crossing. ‘We drove on to the track right behind the freight [train] and the southbound passenger train hit us,’ he said.
“Mrs. W. L. Dodds of Osyko, Miss., was killed when the heavy bus hurtled through the air and overturned on the sidewalk where she was standing trying to warn the driver of his danger.
“In addition to Mrs. Dodds, the dead were listed as:
Donald Whitmore, Aatlantic, Ia.
William J. Rescori, Dorr Field, Fla.
Roscoe Smith, Brookhaven.
Mr. and Mrs. H. M. Shinebarger, RFD No. 2, Elrin, N.Y.
- M. Landt, 364 Roxford road, Syracuse, N.Y.
Geddie Roy Smathers, 320 West Kingston avenue, Charlotte, N.C.
- Zeilberdurt, Bayonne, N.J.
Mrs. Fannie Johnston Smith, Crystal Springs.
Mrs. Ella Smith, Crystal Springs.
Truly Smith, Brookhaven.
Mrs. Zellie Estelle Cutrer, Osyka.
Two unidentified women.”
(AP. “Death Toll Now 15 In Bus, Train Crash At Crystal Springs.” Delta Democrat-Times. Greenville, MS. 8-6-1942, pp. 1 and 3.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Death Toll Now 15 In Bus, Train Crash At Crystal Springs.” Delta Democrat-Times. Greenville, MS. 8-6-1942, p. 1 and 3. Accessed 6-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/greenville-delta-democrat-times-aug-06-1942-p-1/
Associated Press. “Ten Die in Collision. Crystal Springs Train And Bus Crash Hurts 30.” Hattiesburg American, MS. 8-5-1942, p. 1. Accessed 6-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hattiesburg-american-aug-05-1942-p-1/
Greenvilleflyers.com. “The Crystal Springs Bus Tragedy – 15 Dead.” 9-28-2019. Accessed 6-3-2024 at: https://www.greenvilleflyers.com/blog/the-crystal-springs-bus-tragedy-15-dead