ALLHANDS, Mae - car-train - Fountain County INGenWeb Project

A Wingate woman killed Thursday in a railroad crossing accident became Montgomery Cuonty's first traffic fatality in 1952. She was Mrs. Mae Allhands, about 65. Her son, Vernon (Bud) Allhands about 44, driver of the car, was injured and is in Culver Hospital where he was reported as "fairly good' Thursday night. The crash occurred at the crossing at the east edge of Wingate at 4:13 p.m. Mrs. Allhands and her son had reportedly been in Crawfordsville to sell some calves. The empty trailer was found a short distance from the demolished 11-year-old two-door sedan. Two eye witnesses to the crash said the Allhands car seemed to skid onto the tracks and then stop suddenly as the tires came in contact with the wooden ties. The road, which is a side road off State Rd 55 at the east edge of Wingate was mirror-slick and the approach to the crossing is slightly up hill. The train was a west-bound NY Chicago & St. Louis (Nickel Plate) Freight train. It was just approaching Wingate on its run between Frankfort & Charleston, Ill. Robert Rush, 26 who lives a mile west of Wingate was following the death car. He told Dr. Fred Blix, Montgomery County Coroner that he heard the train whistle. He looked at the train and when he looked back at the car he saw pieces flying through the air. Another man, William VanHook, 23, of Odell, saw the crash from a window of the Banes Saw Mill near the tracks. He said he cried, "There's going to be a wreck." And then the train smashed into the right side of the car just behind the door. VanHook said the impact tossed the car about 4' in the are, twisting and turning. It landed right side up about 40' from the crossing, the right side ripped completely away as if by a giant can opener. VanHook said it was the most horrible accident he had seen. He told the coroner that he was at the saw mill buying lumber. Rush told Dr. Blix that he had been to Elmdale, about 4 miles east of Wingate. He remarked that he usually takes State Road 55 into town but had just come this way Thursday. Rush told the coroner that he thought that Allhands could have gotten across the track if he hadn't tried to stop. After the collision Rush said he rushed to the wrecked car and Bud, whom he knew was standing dazedly at its side. When asked if he was badly hurt, Bud answer, "No, I don't think so but I think Ma is dead." Rush then took a blanket from his car and covered Mrs. Allhands. He and VanHook drove Bud to Culver Hospital. VanHook said when he saw the wreck happen that he thought it was Raymond Allhands, another son of the dead woman. It was his car and Bud and his mother had evidently borrowed it to take the calves to Crawfordsville. VanHook also was a friend of the Allhands family. Engineer on the train No. 41 was J. Roberts., P. Roberts was fireman, EP Miller conductor, Davis flagman and the two brakemen were Pittmann & EC Jones. The train is of the Cloverleaf division of the railroad with headquarters at Frankfort. In addition to the coroner,t he accident was also investigated by the sheriff's office. The Allhands were operators of the Allhands Dairy in Wingate. The family lives on a farm west of town. Bud Allhands has many cuts and bruises over his body including a bad laceration on the back of his head. The full extent of his injuries won't be known until a more thorough examination is made Friday. He was responding well to treatment Thursday night. Mrs. Allhands was the wife of Robert Allhands. In addition to the husband and two sons, four daughter also survive. They are Mrs. Jeanette Neal, Rochester; Mrs. Eleanor Schieb, Reading, Pa; Mrs. Ruth Rice, Crawfordsville, Mrs. Dorothy Shoaf, Attica. Also surviving is a brother, Clyde Cutrell, Danville, Ill. - kbz

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Source: obituary in a scrapbook from a collection of Fauniel Hershberger's typed by Walt W Waynetown-- (CNS)

Mrs. Eva Mae Allhands, 65, dairy operator at Wingate for the past 45 years, was killed about 4:10 p. m. Thursday (Jan. 3, 1952) when the car in which she was riding was struck by a Nickel Plate Railroad freight train at the east edge of Wingate. Her son, Vernon, driver of the car, was seriously injured and was taken to Culver’s Hospital in Crawfordsville. It was the first traffic fatality in Montgomery County, Ind., this year. Mrs. Allhands and her son were returning home from Crawfordsville, after delivering a load of livestock. A stock trailer was being towed by the Allhands auto. Robert Rush of Wingate, driving behind the Allhands car, and William Van Hook of Odel, witnesses to the crash, said the Allhands car seemed to skid on the railroad crossing and stalled when the tires failed to make traction on the crossing boards. The auto was thrown into the air and landed about 40 feet away on its wheels. The entire right side of the auto was torn away. The train, westbound was enroute to Charleston, Ill., from Frankfort, Ind. The son suffered severe bruises and a head injury. X-rays were to be taken Friday at Culver Hospital to determine the extent of injuries. Mrs. Allhands was born Jan. 19, 1886 in Tippecanoe County, Ind., daughter of Cage and Sarah Hollingsworth Cutrell. She was married in 1902 at Charleston, Ind., to Robert L. Allhands, who survives. She was a member of the Methodist Church, Rebekah and Pythian Sisters lodges, all of Wingate. Also surviving are two sons, Raymond and Vernon, both of Wingate; four daughters, Mesdames Janette Neal of Thorntown, Ind., Elenore Schlieb of Reading, Pa., Dorothy Shoaf of Attica, Ruth Rice of Crawfordsville; three brothers, Leonard Cutrell of Fort Wayne, Ind., Clyde Cutrell of Danville, William Cutrell of Bloomington, Ind., two half-brothers, Gerard and Ernest Cutrell, both of Dayton, Ohio; 13 grandchildren, and one great-grandchild. The body is at the Grenard & Services Funeral Home in Waynetown where it will remain for services at 2 p. m. Sunday. The Rev. H. L. McBride will officiate. Burial will be in Greenlawn Cemetery in Wingate. - kbz