Charles Searles, locomotive engineer, Ill., injured 1903
St. Charles (Illinois) Chronicle, 27 February 1903
Collision at Galena Junction
Charles Searles, Well Known Here, Seriously Injured in a Wreck last Saturday Morning.
A wreck occurred on the Illinois Central railroad early last Saturday morning, in which one person was killed and two seriously injured, one of the latter being Charles Searles, a former ST. Charles boy and well know here, an engineer on the road.
Mr. Searles was in charge of a local freight, and had arrived at Galena Junction, with orders towait fifteen minutes for a mail train which was that much behind its schedule time. Mr. Searles thought he had time enough to take water, so ran his engine down to the tank and filled it. On the way back to his train the mail train, which had made up all but seven minutes of its belatedness, coming at a terrific rate of speed, crashed into his engine, demolishing it completely. The brakeman, who was standing on the back end of the tender, was hurled on top of the wreck and died shortly after. The fireman escaped with his life but had one thigh broken. Mr. Searles was taken out o the wreck unconscious, and the latest report states that he yet is in the same condition. He was taken to the railroad company's hospital at Dubuque, Iowa, where every effort to restore him to complete consciousness has thus far been unsuccessful.
Silas Searles, a brother residing at this place, went to Dubuque to see the injured man, and says there are no bones broken and only a few scratches on his face; occasionally, when spoken to, he appears to rally enough to give an answer, but loses consciousness immediately. The physicians in attendance claim there is no concussion of the brain and feel sure of his recovery.
Mr. Searles has a mother and two brothers living here and the many friends of the family sympathize with them and hope for Charlie's speedy recovery.
At the point where the wreck occurred there is a sharp curve and this kept the men on the freight from seeing the mail train until too late to jump. The engineer and fireman on the latter jumped and were not injured.
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