1935 — Apr 11, Williamsport High School bus hit by train at crossing, fog, Rockville, MD – 14

Compiled by Wayne Blanchard; last edit 12-3-2024 for upload to: http://www.usdeadlyevents.com/

–14  AP. “Private Funerals Next Week…14 Bus-Train…Victims.” The Frederick Post, MD. 4-13-1935, 1.

–14  Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “14 Williamsport Pupils Die…” 4-12-1935, p. 1.

 Narrative Information

April 12, Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD: “A Baltimore and Ohio express train crashed into a school bus containing twenty-eight pupils of the Williamsport High school, teacher and driver at the Rockville, Md., crossing last night about 11:30 o’clock, bringing a death toll estimated by police at fourteen. The pupils, ranging in age from 14 to 18, were members of the chemistry class of the school and were returning from the University of Maryland at College Park where they had attended a special chemistry demonstration. The left Williamsport in the afternoon after classes in charge of Miss A. Louis Funk, of Hagerstown, the teacher. Physicians and police placed the known death toll after the accident a 14.

“The driver of the bus, Percy Line, who escaped with bruises, said he knew nothing of the approaching train until a whistle screamed, to be instantly followed by the impact which tore the bus virtually in two, tossing the bodies of its young occupants along the right-of-way as the train ground to a stop.

“Those at the scene said rain and fog made visibility low. Police reported the view of the crossing normally good.

“The injured were rushed to hospitals at Sandy Springs, Georgetown and Washington.

“The crossing is located on the outskirts of Rockville. The express, bound for Washington, caught the wreckage up and carried it a mile before the brakes of the train ground it to a halt.

“Residents of Rockville rushed immediately to the scene and with the aid of lanterns found the dead and injured. Ambulances were rushed and the injured taken immediately in hospitals. Immediate identification was made difficult by the mangled condition of many of the bodies.

“Miss Funk, daughter of J. Kieffer Funk, of this city, telephoned word of the accident immediately to Williamsport and parents of a number of the children hurried by automobile to Rockville.

“Dispatches from Rockville state that confusion reigned after the crash as rescuers started the gruesome task of finding the dead and injured scattered along the track for more than a quarter of a mile. Some of the victims were mangled almost beyond recognition while others were in agonizing pain from their injuries….

“The terrific crash which resulted when the engine struck the bus about ten feet from the rear end awakened scores of people living nearby….All rescue squads in the county were called out as the search was carried on in a drizzling rain….

“Two bodies were said to have been carried on the engine for approximately 500 yards.

“One hospital at Washington reported it had received five injured of which two were expected to die.

“Police said only nine of the 28 pupils in the bus were known to have escaped injury….

Victims of Crossing Crash

“The known dead in the crash of the Williamsport school bus with a B. and O. train at Rockville late last night are:

Margaret Eva Zimmerman, daughter of Dr. I. M. Zimmerman.

Elva Harsh, daughter of Beall Harsh.

Bertha Castle, daughter of Roth Castle.

Norris Downs, Jr.

Mary Louise Downs, daughter of Mrs. Esther Downs.

Carl Brindle.

Claude Myers.

Paul McElroy.

Virginia Myers.

Leroy Kendall

“….In addition to the above, three dead are in a Georgetown hospital and one in a Sandy Springs hospital. Their identities had not been established at 4 o’clock this morning…” (Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “14 Williamsport Pupils Die in Crossing Crash.” 4-12-1935, p. 1.)

April 12, AP: “By The Associated Press. Williamsport, Md., April 12. – Silent, grief-stricken Williamsport parents today received the broken bodies of 14 children who died in the shambles of a bus on a Baltimore and Ohio Railroad grade crossing at Rockville, Md. ….

“At Rockville a five-sided investigation was started in an attempt to sift out circumstances of last night’s crash – Maryland’s most tragic in years. Percy Lines, driver of the shiny, new bus which was carrying the children home from a chemistry show at the University of Maryland was held on a charge of manslaughter. He was released in $1,000 bond furnished by a bonding company.

“Only two of the 15 injured persons were still in hospitals. The others had come back home to be greeted by parents and relatives who had thought them dead….

“Line and Miss Louise Funk, the teacher who carried her chemistry class on the ill-fated trip, said they heard no warning signals and saw no warning lights at the crossing. Their first knowledge of the train came, they said, when its headlights pierced the foggy blackness of last night and shone directly into the windows of the bus.

“Six of the 33 members of the Senior class died in the crash, the other eight being members of the Junor class. The school has an enrollment of 600.

“Business and school life was at a standstill here  today as three hearses brought the bodies home. The town was forced to borrow two hearses from neighboring communities….

“The two pupils still in the Washington hospital…are expected to recover….

“All the children sitting in the rear of the bus were killed as the vehicle was ripped in half….

Roosevelt Makes Plans.

“Washington, April 12. – With the tragic death roll of a close-by grade crossing accident before him President Roosevelt today laid down the principles to govern the spending of between $100,000,000 and $200,000,000 of work relief funds for making safe the places where highways and railroads meet. The President cited the accident which 14 pupils were killed when a school bus was mashed by a train as an illustration of the need for grade crossing elimination. Sen. Tydings, Democrat, Maryland, commenting on the accident said he hoped the crossing at which the school bus was struck by the train would be one of those eliminated in the Maryland highway program to be carried with work relief money.” (Associated Press. “Private Funerals Next Week at Homes and Churches for 14 Bus-Train Crash Victims.” Frederick Post, MD. 4-13-1935, p.1.)

“Baltimore, April 12. – The Rockville grade crossing where last night’s fatal accident occurred will be one of the first eliminated under the State Roads Commission’s Federal financed grade elimination program, Nathan L. Smith, chairman, said today….

“Rockville residents said today that during the last few years six persons have been killed in train and automobile crashes at the scene of last night’s catastrophe….” (Frederick News. “Rockville Crossing Moved to Top of State Elimination List.” 4-13-1935, p. 1.)

Sources

Associated Press. “Private Funerals Next Week at Homes and Churches for 14 Bus-Train Crash Victims.” The Frederick Post, MD. 4-13-1935, p.1. Accessed 12-3-2024 at:

https://newspaperarchive.com/the-frederick-news-post-apr-13-1935-p-1/

Frederick News. “Rockville Crossing Moved to Top of State Elimination List.” 4-13-1935, p. 1. Accessed 123-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/the-frederick-news-post-apr-13-1935-p-1/

Morning Herald, Hagerstown, MD. “14 Williamsport Pupils Die in Crossing Crash.” 4-12-1935, p. 1. Accessed 12-3-2024 at: https://newspaperarchive.com/hagerstown-morning-herald-apr-12-1935-p-1/