Hancock County Historical Society
Carthage, IllinoisSiegfried III
Page 75FULLER REED, 30
DIES WHEN TRAIN
STRIKES HANDCARFuller Wayne Reed, 30, La Harpe railway section worker died at the St. Francis hospital Macomb at 5:30 o'clock Wednesday afternoon after suffering head injuries when a Toledo, Peoria, and Western freight train struck a motor handcar on which he was riding near Good Hope last Sunday morning.
Reed never regained consciousness after the accident.
Two companions on the handcar leaped to safety as they saw the freight train bearing down upon them and they were uninjured. They are Walter St. Clair and his nephew, James St. Clair, also of LaHarpe.
The three LaHarpe men were engaged in patrol duty on the T. P. and W. tracks and were running the handcar about a mile and a half ahead of the eastbound freight. This patrol work has been done since the strike of railroad employes several weeks ago and was for the purpose of checking the tracks and switches for possible sabotage, it was said.
The handcar was proceeding along the track about a mile and a half east of Good Hope at about 7:15 a. m. when James St. Clair suddenly noticed the freight train approaching the handcar and he yelled for the others to jump. The St. Clairs leaped off, but Reed, who was said to be busy pouring some sand into a funnel device that sands the track ahead of the freight, did not jump. The train struck the handcar, throwing it and Reed off the tracks. The engine stopped 557 feet from the point of collision, it was said.
The men reported that the handcar had not slowed down for a crossing or any other purpose and they did not realize that the train was so near them.
Funeral Friday
Funeral services will be conducted at two o'clock Friday afternoon at the Walters and Son Funeral home in LaHarpe with Rev. L. M. Hovda, of Fosterburg, Ill., officiating. Burial will be at the LaHarpe cemetery.
Reed was born at St. Mary's, near Plymouth, on July 30, 1911, being 30 years, five months, and 28 days old at the time of his death. He is survived by his parents S. W. and Matilda (Duncan) Reed; his wife, who was formerly Dorthea Avery of LaHarpe; two small children, Carol and Wayne Eugene; and seven brothers and sisters, S. E. Reed of Peoria, Mrs. Millie Kimler of Macomb, Mrs. Goldia Williams of Plymouth, Mrs. Ruby Moon of Salem, Mrs. Mary Hudson of Quincy, Mrs. Nona Havens of Chicago, and Mrs. Della Marmon of Dallas City.
