SCENE OF HORROR

TERRIBLE WRECK ON THE S.P. LINE NEAR BYRON

Twenty-Three Lives Lost and 27 Injured by the Collision of the Owl and Stockton Flier.

The most disastrous railrod[sic] wreck which ever occurred in California happened on Saturday night near Byron. As a result of this catastrophe 23 persons are dead and 27 are more or less seriously injured. The dead are:
ROBERT RENWICK, of Fresno -- at San Francisco morgue.
WILLIAM L. TEMPLE, aged 40, of Oakland -- at San Francisco morgue.
LEONARD S. ERWIN, aged 23, of Oakland -- at San Francisco morgue.
TUMG TAI GUNG, Chinese woman, of 800 Dupont street -- at San Francisco morgue.
AH QUEY, Chinese girl, of 800 Dupont street -- at San Francisco morgue.
RICHARD POST, of Fowler, Cal. -- at San Francisco morgue.
YUKIO MISGOWA, aged 18 months, of San Francisco -- at Martinez.
MRS. ELIZABETH SMITH, wife of GEORGE F., of Fresno -- at Martinez morgue.
CLARENCE D. OLUFE, student, University of California, aged 19, of Modesto -- at Modesto.
MISS MABEL VEZEY, student, University of California, aged 19, of Modesto -- at Modesto.
MISS BIRDIE ELLIOTT, aged 22, of San Francisco -- at Martinez.
CHARLES ASPINWELL SESSIONS, aged 58, of Oakland -- at Martinez morgue.
CHARLES OWENS, aged 55, of Fresno -- at Martinez morgue.
MISS EMILY MAYER, aged 18, of San Francisco -- at Martinez morgue.
F. S. EASTMAN, young sailor, Pensacola -- at Martinez morgue.
FONG DICK, Chinese woman, of San Francisco -- at Martinez morgue.
CARL MAYER, aged 7, of San Francisco -- at San Francisco morgue.
Unidentified young white woman -- at Oakland morgue.
MISS ALICE SULLIVAN, of Oakland -- at Martinez morgue.
D. J. VERNON, of Fresno -- Fresno.
Two unidentified Chinese.
The story of the wreck is a short one. The "Owl" bound for Los Angeles left the Oakland mole shortly in advance of the Stockton flyer, the last local train between San Francisco and Stockton. Shortly after the "Owl" pulled out of Oakland it was noticed by the engineer that something was wrong with his engine, and he expected to stop at Byron and change engines. The train same to a stop, however, before that place was reached and it was on the main line of track. The Stockton train was a short distance behind and a man was immediately sent back with a lantern to flag the "flyer." The Stockton train came on and the engineer apparently did not see the signal in time to reduce the speed of his train materially. The engine of the "flyer" ran into the last car of the "Owl" and plowed its way completely through it. The last two cars of the "Owl" were a dining and a day coach which were to have been dropped from the train at Fresno, and were occupied principally by Fresno people.
The engine of the Stockton train went right through the day coach of the Owl and fairly pinned the occupants of the coach against the walls and burned them to death with the escaping steam.
JAMES BENTLEY who was a passenger on the Fresno train that comes through Modesto was at the scene of the disaster shortly after the collision occurred: MR. BENTLEY said to a News representative today. "Never before have I witnessed such a terrible sight. There were about fifty people in the passenger coach and but few escaped. The picture in today's Examiner explains the thing better than words can. By the time I got there, there were eight dead people lying on the ground, and everyone who could was working at the wreck to remove the dead and injured. The people who lived near the place did all in their power to relieve the suffering and to care for the injured. I was talking to MR. POST, who has since died, and he did not seem to appreciate the condition he was in. He said 'Don't stop for me, I am only slightly hurt, go and help those who need it more than I.'"
Nearly everyone on the train thought that the "Owl" had pulled in on a siding to allow the Stockton train to pass.
Engineer McGUIRE of the Stockton train in answer to some questions asked by a newspaper man said:
"Did you see the Owl Brakeman's signal?" he was asked.
"Yes, but I had already seen the lights of the Owl itself."
"Well how do you account for the accident? Didn't you throw on your airbrakes at once?"
"Yes, but my God! we were going a mile a minute."
"How far from the Owl were you when you saw danger ahead and put on your airbrakes?"
"I don't remember just the distance."
"You are positive that there was not sufficient space between the brakeman's signal and the Owl for you to bring your train to a stop?"
"No! No! Why I threw on my airbrakes when I saw the Owl lights, which was before I saw the brakeman's signal, and the next thing I knew we were crashing into the rear coach."
COLE, the flagman, who was sent back from the Owl as soon as it came to a stop, said yesterday:
McGUIRE saw my swinging lantern, for I heard the toot-toot of his whistle. At that time I was about 1,000 feet in the rear of the Owl. McGUIRE'S train at that moment was over 1,000 feet still further west from where I was standing as I swung my lantern."
A special telegram, to the News this afternoon says that twenty-three are dead as a result of Saturday nights' horror, and that two more are expected to die before night. There are now eighteen victims of the collision in the Southern Pacific hospital, many of them badly injured. The railroad officials say that it is the saddest catastrophe that ever happened to the company, and that it is worse than the terrible Tehachapi disaster of several years ago.
The blame cannot be accurately fixed. Engineer McGUIRE died this morning. He became a raving maniac before death. With him dies the hope of finding out the real cause of the catastrophe as he alone, if anyone, could tell the straight of it. The company is doing everything possible to care for the injured. The property loss is small.

The Evening Modesto News California 1902-12-22
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Researched and Transcribed by Stu Beitler. Thank you, Stu!