Special to El Rrun-Rrun
Like the remaining survivors of the Holocaust, few people are around who still remember what was until then - and remains now - ranked as the worst disaster in Texas road history.
That's when early that chilly morning of March 14, 1940 what was supposed to be a routine trip for farmworkers to the fruit fields around the Hidalgo county area turned instead into their last journey of deathAs recently as this year, some residents of Alamo gathered to honor the 34 people who died in the train accident 80 years ago on a Tuesday morning. The Catholic Church and the Alamo Lions Club held a special ceremony observing the 80th anniversary.
On that day, an oncoming train collided with a truck carrying more than 40 agricultural workers, killing the 34 people ranging in ages from ten to 48.
The collision at the railroad crossing on Tower Road in Alamo resulted in the most deaths on a Texas highway in the 20th century.
But it wasn't until 2002 that the site where a Missouri Pacific passenger train, westbound from Harlingen to Mission, violently crashed into a truck loaded with fruit pickers was granted a plaque by the Texas Historic Commission.
Most of the dead did not know what hit them, as they were huddled under a tarpaulin (canvas) to protect them from the chilly breeze of the morning.
Reporters at the time the plaque was unveiled reported that 81-year-old Sixto Villarreal remembers the accident that killed four of his father’s cousins.
“There was a rosary and mass every Saturday,” said Villarreal. “It was very hard, and for those who died, poor them. “There was a rosary and mass every Saturday,” said Villarreal. “It was very hard, and for those who died, poor them.”
Former Alamo mayor, Rudy Villarreal was six years old when the train accident occurred. He said he remembers trying to leave school and head towards the wreckage, but his teacher didn’t allow him to. He says many across the Valley responded to help.
“After that, a lot of the truckers had to buy vans to transport their workers to the fields, and they didn’t want that to happen again,” Villarreal said.
Two eyewitnesses who were driving along highway 83, just behind the truck, saw the driver wheel the truck directly in front of the train. The train was traveling about 45 miles per hours striking and dragging the truck about 700 feet before it could stop.
State Police Director Homer Garrison, Jr., described the wreck as apparently the worst in Texas history. The train crashed into the truck at 8:06 a.m. and carried the vehicle on its cow-catcher for 600 yards, with bodies and limbs being scattered along the tracks for that distance.
The truck burst into flames under the impact of the crash, and one victim was found charred when the train had stopped.
Garrison, commenting in Austin, said:
"The McAllen crossing wreck apparently is the worst of its kind in Texas history. Our records go back only to 1935 when the public safety department was created but no one here can recall a crossing accident in which more lives were lost."
At the scene, John Boeye and Frank Barry found a child’s head, but the body was missing. Another man was cut in two at the waist and still others were there with burning clothes. Julio Garcia, a survivor, days later recalled “we could hear the noise of the train, and the sound of the wheels, but I don’t remember hearing the whistle.”
Miss Ann Wall working just across from scene of the incident witnessed the following:
“I saw a sheet of flame and bodies flew from the flame to lie in a heap along the tracks. The gasoline tank of the truck must have exploded. I tried to scream, and I couldn’t.”
It was not uncommon for an entire family to ride together and work at the same site. Five members of one family -Juan Perez, Esteban Perez, Mrs. Otila Perez, Trinidad Perez and Canuto Perez - perished together in the wreckage. The incident occurred at the intersection of the Missouri Pacific tracks and Tower road, on the east side of the town of Alamo.
All the dead were from Starr County who camped around the Donna area from where they made
their daily trip to the Hidalgo orchards. Brad Smith, a newspaper reporter who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident occurred. recalled:
“Running along the railroad right of way to the west and almost breathless with horror, I saw arms, legs, bodies torn into bits. In the midst of the most frightful scene of carnage I ever had seen in the Valley there was little but stark, horrible death.”
Minutes after the incident half a dozen ambulances arrived at the scene. The peaceful farming community soon was populated with four to five thousand people at the scene. One eyewitness at the scene recalls “I was amazed, as two priests, seemly appearing from thin air, stepped quietly but swiftly into the scene of horror and began their last ministrations.”
The majority that died were under 21 year of age—and 11 out of the 17 injured ranged from ages 9 to 17 years.
Excerpts taken from the Brownsville Herald, the Valley Morning Star, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, and San antonio Light, and various sources.
Reporters at the time the plaque was unveiled reported that 81-year-old Sixto Villarreal remembers the accident that killed four of his father’s cousins.
“There was a rosary and mass every Saturday,” said Villarreal. “It was very hard, and for those who died, poor them. “There was a rosary and mass every Saturday,” said Villarreal. “It was very hard, and for those who died, poor them.”
Former Alamo mayor, Rudy Villarreal was six years old when the train accident occurred. He said he remembers trying to leave school and head towards the wreckage, but his teacher didn’t allow him to. He says many across the Valley responded to help.
“After that, a lot of the truckers had to buy vans to transport their workers to the fields, and they didn’t want that to happen again,” Villarreal said.
The faded tan canvas became the death shroud that held them trapped when the train struck the overcrowded truck.
At the inquest, the engineer of the train said, “I was riding on the North side of the cab and had not seen the truck.”
A newspaper reporter for a San Antonio newspaper quoted a witness who said the train had not blown its whistle as it approached the crossing, but after numerous investigations, Justice of the Peace R. L. Savage of San Juan completed an inquest in which he returned a verdict of accidental death.
At the inquest, the engineer of the train said, “I was riding on the North side of the cab and had not seen the truck.”
A newspaper reporter for a San Antonio newspaper quoted a witness who said the train had not blown its whistle as it approached the crossing, but after numerous investigations, Justice of the Peace R. L. Savage of San Juan completed an inquest in which he returned a verdict of accidental death.
Two eyewitnesses who were driving along highway 83, just behind the truck, saw the driver wheel the truck directly in front of the train. The train was traveling about 45 miles per hours striking and dragging the truck about 700 feet before it could stop.
State Police Director Homer Garrison, Jr., described the wreck as apparently the worst in Texas history. The train crashed into the truck at 8:06 a.m. and carried the vehicle on its cow-catcher for 600 yards, with bodies and limbs being scattered along the tracks for that distance.
The truck burst into flames under the impact of the crash, and one victim was found charred when the train had stopped.
Garrison, commenting in Austin, said:
"The McAllen crossing wreck apparently is the worst of its kind in Texas history. Our records go back only to 1935 when the public safety department was created but no one here can recall a crossing accident in which more lives were lost."
At the scene, John Boeye and Frank Barry found a child’s head, but the body was missing. Another man was cut in two at the waist and still others were there with burning clothes. Julio Garcia, a survivor, days later recalled “we could hear the noise of the train, and the sound of the wheels, but I don’t remember hearing the whistle.”
Miss Ann Wall working just across from scene of the incident witnessed the following:
“I saw a sheet of flame and bodies flew from the flame to lie in a heap along the tracks. The gasoline tank of the truck must have exploded. I tried to scream, and I couldn’t.”
It was not uncommon for an entire family to ride together and work at the same site. Five members of one family -Juan Perez, Esteban Perez, Mrs. Otila Perez, Trinidad Perez and Canuto Perez - perished together in the wreckage. The incident occurred at the intersection of the Missouri Pacific tracks and Tower road, on the east side of the town of Alamo.
All the dead were from Starr County who camped around the Donna area from where they made
their daily trip to the Hidalgo orchards. Brad Smith, a newspaper reporter who arrived at the scene shortly after the incident occurred. recalled:
“Running along the railroad right of way to the west and almost breathless with horror, I saw arms, legs, bodies torn into bits. In the midst of the most frightful scene of carnage I ever had seen in the Valley there was little but stark, horrible death.”
Minutes after the incident half a dozen ambulances arrived at the scene. The peaceful farming community soon was populated with four to five thousand people at the scene. One eyewitness at the scene recalls “I was amazed, as two priests, seemly appearing from thin air, stepped quietly but swiftly into the scene of horror and began their last ministrations.”
The majority that died were under 21 year of age—and 11 out of the 17 injured ranged from ages 9 to 17 years.
Excerpts taken from the Brownsville Herald, the Valley Morning Star, the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram, and San antonio Light, and various sources.
6 comments:
Here is a sample of the non-sense that Trump and his WhiteTrash supporters believe:
1. Joe Scarborough killed his intern
2. Ted Cruz's father killed JFK
3. Chloroquine will prevent COVID-19
4. Injecting disinfectant will cure COVID-19
5. There are fine people among NeoNazis
6. Trump has a bigger crowd attending his inauguration than Obama
7. There are millions and millions of voter fraud.
8. Mexicans are to blamed for the joblessness and miserable lives of these Trump supporters.
9. Hillary killed Vince Foster
10. There'll be a second electoral fluke this November to give this 6-times bankrupt, wife-cheating, pussy Grabbing, bone-spur-faking, brain-damaged, speech-impaired, ugly orangutan a second term.
One more time: "There was a rosary and a mass every Saturday." Ja ja ja
And then there is all that hullabaloo regarding mail-in voting — the implication is that only Democrats want mail-in-voting because they want to cheat. Republicans have been choosing their own constituents for many years through redistricting. They have been suppressing minority voting by limiting and closing polling places. The safety of the masses is not an issue for them. The U.S. Postal Service has the highest efficiency rating in the G20.
The U.S. Census has always been done by mail (it is still optional). The Social Security Administration and Internal Revenue Service mail checks and information daily. Medicare and Medicaid conduct much of their business by mail.
Why do you trust Americans to openly carry military style weapons, but you don’t trust Americans to vote by mail?
"There was a rosary and a mass every Saturday."
A Catholic funeral actually consists of three parts, each of which may occur at different times. The first part is the Vigil service, which takes place at the wake. Next is the Funeral Mass, which is the traditional funeral ceremony. ... Reciting the Rosary, or a set of prayers, is a tradition that's performed at the wake.
Stupid hillbilly at: May 27, 2020 at 5:46 PM
you are a total idiot and a moron.
@2:44 Oye Pendejo! Don't forget all the lies of "Keyna born" Obama, "I won the election" Hillary, "rapists" Biden/B.Clinton , "impeachment" Pelosi,"I invented the internet" Gore, etc...Trump will win again!
Tragic.
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