On Monday morning about 10 o’clock as Train No. 4 was approaching the New York Avenue crossing, a Ford Touring car driven by Ralph Williams and D.A. Hannon attempted to cross the tracks in front of the approaching train. The engineer applied the air brakes and reversed his engine but it was impossible to stop the train, and it struck the car, hurling it and overturning it a distance of 30 feet. The car was completely demolished and the men thrown out and severely injured. A crowd quickly gathered at the scene of the accident, and at first it was thought that the men had been killed. Dr. Mudgett was on the ground and had the men carried over to his office where they received the best medical attention.
Hannon was seriously hurt, having suffered a badly fractured leg and ankle and two broken ribs, also a severe scalp wound and numerous cuts and bruises. He was removed to the McConnell Hospital during the afternoon. Williams was not as seriously hurt at Hannon, but he was suffering from a number of painful cuts and bruises, and he was taken to his home near Pinehurst. The car, which was demolished, was the property of the Vina Vista Corporation and Williams and Hannon had driven over to Southern Pines to make deliveries of some of the Vina Vista products. The contents of the car were more or less broken and scattered along the railroad tracks for a considerable distance.
It is almost a miracle that both men were not instantly killed. The day will come when grade crossings will not longer be tolerated, and it is time for the State of North Carolina to introduce measures that will gradually abolish grade crossings.
From The Sandhill Citizen, Southern Pines, N.C., Dec. 22, 1922. This isn’t the only time I’ve noticed a newspaper article stating that two people were driving a car. I don’t know why it’s done or which person was actually driving the car.
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