The wreck at Pando on last Friday morning, of which a brief notice as given in the last issue of this paper, was one of the most disastrous in recent years on this road. The cause of the accident was a runaway such as frequently occurs on the hill leading down the western slope. But the condition of the rails was such, on account of the intense cold, and the train was so heavily loaded that there was little show for the men to stop the train after it had once started to run. All the hand brakes were set, but this seemed to have no effect on the speed of the train, which was going at a speed of over 100 miles an hour when it left the track. Engineer Ready attempted to save his life by jumping. He was thrown far down the steep embankment and one of his feet caught in the branches of a tree, so that when he was found he was hanging head down with his head in the snow. He was unconscious and never recovered from that condition. Fireman Haley stayed on the engine and was crushed beneath the wreckage and horribly burned. Brakeman Kelley was on top of the car next {sic] the engine and was thrown far ahead of the wreckage. The top of the car remained under him and prevented his being killed. He was cut and bruised terribly, but is now well on the road to recovery. He refused to be taken to the hospitl[sic] aand[sic] was taken to the Salida sanitarium. The loss of the company is very heavy as the cars were all loaded with valuable merchandise, there being 17 of the 18 almost totally destroyed. The funeral of the dead fireman, Harry Haley, was held at the Odd Fellows' hall on Sunday afternoon, Rev. Mason of the Presbyterian church officiating. The deceased was a member of the Woodmen and of the Firemen. The body was buried at Fairview. The deceased leaves a wife and five children, the oldest being 18 years of age. Engineer Ready died Saturday night at the Rio Grande hospital and the body was taken to his former home in Gunnison on Monday for burial. A number of engineers from Salida, accompanied the family to that place. The deceased leaves a wife and four children. The was a member of the A. O. U. W. and of the Engineers.
--The Salida Record (Salida, CO) Jan. 31, 1902
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