Daniel Sandoval

Transportation has become so commonplace that it is easy to forget what tremendous forces are involved, but the reminders are often dangerous and destructive. Accidents were in the news during the transition from September to October, with a train in 1907, an intersection in 1932, a dent in 1957 and a robbery in 1982.

100 years ago

Horrible choice - A stock train derailed below Big Muddy and one man died as a result of being caught in the wreckage, as reported in the Oct. 2, 1907, Natrona County Tribune.

L.E. Tracy was a fireman, someone who stoked the locomotive's furnace, on the second engine of a 20-car train. Railroad engineers had long worried about a particularly mushy stretch of track 17 miles east of Casper. A section foreman passed the area in the early evening before the wreck and reported the gulch was dry.

Yet, a distant cloudburst in the mountains to the south had dropped heavy rain for much of the afternoon. The ensuing flash flood undermined and pulled the track out of line, and when the stock train crossed unsupported track, both locomotives and a stock car rolled over into the creek bed.

When the crash came to a rest, Tracy had his hand pinched between the tender car and the locomotive. A broken pipe vented steam against Tracy, steam he had helped to create.

Tracy begged rescuers to cut off his hand so he could be extricated. No one could summon the courage to do that.

Instead, they pried the train cars apart enough to free Tracy, and when rescuers brought him out, a portion of flesh fell off his body from the steam blowing against him. He was taken to the hospital in Douglas where he later died.

Other casualties included: J.M. Daugherty, the engineer in the locomotive with Tracy and hospitalized with various injuries; the engineer and fireman in the lead locomotive with minor injuries; and more than 200 head of sheep killed.

Armed teenager - The pastoral life didn't seem so peaceful as a coroner's jury was impaneled in Casper in early days of October 1907 to investigate a shooting death at a sheep camp.

W.A. Morris was shot through the abdomen while visiting one of G.F. Stillphen's sheep camps along the Muddy, some 20 miles east of Casper. Frank Johnson, 16, said that he fired two shots from his .36 caliber Colt merely to keep the sheep bunched in a group and that his second shot accidentally hit Morris.

Johnson immediately sought help and Morris was brought to town with an entry wound near his navel and an exit wound behind his right hip. Morris was treated for a perforated bowel by Drs. Gillam and Dean.

Morris died without having made a sworn statement, but people by his bedside said that Morris described different events leading up to the shooting, saying that he and Johnson had an argument and that Johnson shot him as he tried to stand.

Impaneled as a coroner's jury were W.E. Tubbs, Morris Nunan and W.F. Dunn, with Justice Hagens as acting coroner. Johnson was ordered held in jail pending the outcome of the inquiry.

75 years ago

Wheels up - Casper drivers were subjected to the unusual sight of an upside-down car on Oct. 1, 1932, when A. Felt was reportedly driving along North Center Street, minding his own business.

It was 7 o'clock on a Saturday evening when a car driven by Mrs. George Wensick suddenly lunged into the path of Felt's car. The crash flipped Felt's car and he found himself with a very different view of the street.

Felt was treated for a cut on the knee but was otherwise not injured. Patrol Officer William Clark said it appeared Mrs. Wensick was responsible for the collision.

Still loaded - A principal of school at Smoot was killed by an accidental discharge of a shotgun Oct. 2, 1932. George L. Bruce, 25, had just returned from a hunting expedition when a shotgun fell and fired, striking him in the chest.

Bruce died within minutes and he left a wife and a 3-year-old daughter.

50 years ago

Unwieldy turn - A car properly parked on a Casper street was rammed into by a driver performing an illegal maneuver, according to the Oct. 1, 1957, Casper Morning Star.

Mr. and Mrs. J.E. Morgan parked their car in the 900 block of North Park Street. A car making a U-turn apparently swept wide and crunched into the Morgans' car, denting the left door and front fender.

Rather than accepting responsibility for the accident, the driver promptly skedaddled and Casper police were looking for the driver to add a hit-and-run charge to his or her driving record.

25 years ago

Money unspent - Casper streets became the scene of a high-speed chase as a bank robber attempted his getaway Sept. 30, 1982. The Oct. 1, 1982, Casper Star-Tribune report by Alison Oresman detailed the beginnings of a fairly typical bank robbery - the gun, the ski mask, the bag of money.

The unusual step came when a bank employee followed the hold-up man out to get a description of the vehicle the robber was driving. With such an accurate description, the car was spotted on David Street, where the hot pursuit began.

Following a chase that reached 100 mph and involved the entire gamut of law agencies, the robbery suspect crashed his rented car while attempting to get around a roadblock set up in Evansville.

Authorities found a gun, a bag of loot, a ski mask, and they took the driver into custody where he could await federal charges.

"A Look Back in Time" is made possible with the help of Western History Archivist Kevin S. Anderson at the Casper College Western History Center, which is open to the public.