1936 – March 28, bus does not stop at RR crossing, hit by train, Bryon, GA — 10-11
Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 11-20-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/
Blanchard note: We place the death toll at 10-11 in that a number of newspaper articles at the time, up to April 9 when we ceased to search, note ten deaths. The possibility exists that the unidentified man (about 45) noted in the March 30 Associated Press report transcribed below, might have been in error in that there was speculation that there was a body underneath the bus wreckage, which turned out not to be the case. There are ten identified deaths.
–11 AP. “Eleven Killed As…Passenger Train Crashes Into Bus…” Times-Enterprise, GA. 3-31-1936, 1.
–11 Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA. “Thomasville Man…Bus Journey.” 4-3-1936, p. 11.
–11 Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (Pre-1950).”
Narrative Information
Wikipedia: “March 28, 1936 – Byron, Georgia: A Central of Georgia passenger train, going too fast through a grade crossing at night, strikes a bus which had failed to stop at the crossing. 11 of the 13 aboard the bus are killed.” (Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (Pre-1950).”)
Newspaper
March 28, UP: “Macon, Ga., March 28 – (UP) – a Central Georgia passenger train crashed into a bus at a crossing at Byron, Ga., tonight killing at least six persons. Six bodies…were taken at once from the wreckage. Authorities feared more bodies would be found. An undetermined number…were injured and physicians had said some were so badly hurt they would die.
“The train caught the Southern Stages bus squarely in the center and dragged it 100 yards down the track….The bus turned around in a circle in Byron then started back for the main highway having to cross the railroad track en route. Just then the fast passenger train from Macon to Albany roared into Byron where it does not stop.” (United Press. “Train and Bus Hit; Six Die. More Bodies May Be Found in Wreckage by Georgia Officers.” Nevada State Journal, Reno. 3-29-1936, p. 1.)
March 30, AP: “Byron, Ga. (AP). Ten persons, including four members of one family, were dead from the crash of a bus and a section of the Central of Georgia’s limited passenger train, the Southland, which left the rails after the impact. Eight mangled bodies were moved from the wreckage following the accident late Saturday night and two others, including the bus driver, died without regaining consciousness. Three were in hospitals with serious injuries. Altho the entire train – locomotive, three express cars and two coaches – was derailed, railroad officials said none of its crew or passengers was injured. The dead:
Mrs. Sara Sumter, 45, of Americus Ga.
- J. Whitehurst, 45, of Macon, Ga.
- H. Looney, 35, bus driver, of Macon.
Ely Williams, 80…of Macon.
Lloyd Allen Jones, 25…of Byron.
Emma Law, 55…of Montezuma, Ga.; her daughter, Henrietta Martin, 30; and the latter’s
two children, Lula Mae, 3, and a boy, 18 months old.
An unidentified…man, about 45….”
(Associated Press. “Ten Dead in a Collision.” Lincoln State Journal, NE. 3-30-1936, p. 10.)
March 30, AP: “Byron, Ga., March 30. (AP) – The known death toll in Saturday night’s bus-train crash here increased to 10 today with the death in a Macon hospital of J. B. Horne, 45, a Central of Georgia locomotive engineer who was aboard the bus….Two…were in a Macon hospital, expected to die during the day….” (Associated Press. “Death Toll Increases.” The Times-Enterprise, Thomasville, GA, 3-31-1936, p. 1.)
March 31, AP: “By The Associated Press. The death of a railroad engineer today brought to eleven the total of lives lost in a train-bus crash and swelled the toll of Georgia’s week-end traffic deaths to seventeen. The crossing accident occurred by Byron, 15 miles south of Macon, Saturday night, eight persons were killed outright as a Central of Georgia passenger train struck the bus and demolished it….two others were reported near death….” (Associated Press. “Eleven Killed As Fast Passenger Train Crashes Into Bus at Byron, Ga.” Times-Enterprise, GA. 3-31-1936, p. 1.)
April 1, AP: “Macon, Ga., April 1 (AP) – An official investigation of the train-bus disaster at Byron, Ga., last Saturday night which caused 10 deaths was begun here today….Meanwhile, Miss Josephine Early, Statham, Ga., school teacher injured in the crash, and two negroes who also were in the bus, were reported in somewhat improved condition at hospitals here.” (AP. “Official Probe Into Bus-Train Crash is Under Way at Macon.” The Times-Enterprise, GA. 4-1-1936, p. 4.)
April 2, AP: “Macon, Ga., April 2. (AP). Interstate commerce commission inspectors today studied testimony taken at an official inquiry into the bus-train crash at Byron, Ga., last Saturday and said they would announce their findings soon…the accident…cost the lives of ten persons….” (Associated Press. “ICC Studies Testimony of Inquiry into the Train-Bus Crash.” The Times-Enterprise, GA. 4-2-1936, p. 4.)
April 3: “Mr. Jack B. Butler of Thomasville, sales manager of the Garrison Motor Company, feels that ‘Lady Luck’ was with his Saturday afternoon when he decided on a bus trip to Macon. He almost took a bus…which was struck by a Central of Georgia train at Byron, Ga., resulting in eleven fatalities….The accident is hard to explain, Mr. Butler said since the crossing can be plainly seen from the straight level highway. In his opinion the bus could scarcely have gotten out of low gear before crossing the tracks after leaving the drug store….” (Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA. “Thomasville Man Made Lucky Decision On His Bus Journey.” 4-3-1936, p. 11.)
April 3: “….The one man who might have told most of the tragedy – O. H. Looney of Macon, the bus driver – died yesterday without regaining consciousness….” (Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA. “17 Persons Die in Georgia Mishaps (continued from page 1).” 4-3-1936, p. 1.)
April 9, Butler Herald, GA: “Two additional damage suits, totaling $30,000, were filed in Peach superior court Tuesday against Southern Stages, Inc., and the South-western Railroad company, making a total of five suits, aggregating $115,000fileds as result of the bus-train wreck that killed 10 persons at Byron Saturday night, March 28.” (Butler Herald, GA. “News Summary of The Week In Georgia.” 4-9-1936, p. 8.)
Sources
Associated Press. “Death Toll Increases.” The Times-Enterprise, Thomasville, GA, 3-31-1936, p.1. Accessed 11-20-2024: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-mar-31-1936-p-6/
Associated Press. “Eleven Killed As Fast Passenger Train Crashes Into Bus at Byron, Ga.” Times-Enterprise, GA. 3-31-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-mar-31-1936-p-6/
Associated Press. “ICC Studies Testimony of Inquiry into the Train-Bus Crash.” The Times-Enterprise, GA. 4-2-1936, p. 4. Accessed 11-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-apr-02-1936-p-4/
Associated Press. “Official Probe Into Bus-Train Crash is Under Way at Macon.” The Times-Enterprise, GA. 4-1-1936, p. 4. Accessed 11-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-apr-01-1936-p-4/
Associated Press. “Ten Dead in a Collision.” Lincoln State Journal, NE. 3-30-1936, p. 10. Accessed 11-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/lincoln-nebraska-state-journal-mar-30-1936-p-10/
Butler Herald, GA. “News Summary of The Week In Georgia.” 4-9-1936, p. 8. Accessed 10-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/butler-herald-apr-09-1936-p-22/
Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA. “17 Persons Die in Georgia Mishaps (continued from page 1).” 4-3-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-20-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-apr-03-1936-p-11/
Times Enterprise, Thomasville, GA. “Thomasville Man Made Lucky Decision On His Bus Journey.” 4-3-1936, p. 11. Accessed 11-20-2024 at:
https://newspaperarchive.com/thomasville-times-enterprise-apr-03-1936-p-11/
United Press. “Train and Bus Hit; Six Die. More Bodies May Be Found in Wreckage by Georgia Officers.” Nevada State Journal, Reno. 3-29-1936, p. 1. Accessed 11-20-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/nevada-state-journal-mar-29-1936-p-1/
Wikipedia. “List of Rail Accidents (Pre-1950).” Accessed at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_pre-1950_rail_accidents