Tragedy at the Avon Street Railroad Crossing
June 18, 1906
A haunting scream filled the night air. It was 3:47 a.m. We know the exact time because it was the precise moment that Peter Schmidt’s watch stopped.
No one saw the “accident.”
Charles Hilbert who lived nearby heard the scream and rushed to see what happened.
“The switch engine followed soon after the passenger had passed and Edward Webber, a switchman, found the injured man.” (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
Both Webber and Hilbert arrived quickly at the scene. “Webber held his lantern to Schmidt’s face and said, ‘It’s Pete Smith.’ “
The dying man answered, “That’s me.” (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
Peter Schmidt’s “left arm was crushed above the elbow but was not broken. His right arm was broken at the elbow and crushed above it, and the fingers of both hands are badly bruised. His left foot is crushed below the heel and there are two small cuts on the left side of his neck, while on the top of his head, on the left side, there was a cut about three inches long, and no doubt caused his death, as the skull was fractured.” Peter was just 27 when this catastrophe happened. (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
Peter Schmidt succumbed to his devastating injuries and died thirty minutes after he was discovered.
Peter was a machinist for the Burlington Railroad in Las Crosse, Wisconsin. He was well liked by both friends and colleagues.
One theory of how the accident happened was that Peter stood on the step of the train planning to drop off one block from home. “About twenty feet west of the sidewalk there is a footprint in some soft dirt which looks as though he may have stopped there when he got off and slipped. His clothes probably caught and carried him to the walk where he fell and was carried under the coaches.” (“Leaps from Train” 1906)
When the train passed the Avon Street crossing where this horrific tragedy occurred, it always proceeded at a high rate of speed. As Peter was an experienced railroad employee, his friends stated that he was too cautious to risk a jump there. Peter had never before attempted to jump off at the Avon Crossing. Several of his friends denied that jumping here was even a possibility. They claimed that Peter would never even attempt to jump off a train unless it was going very slowly or had stopped.
However, others who knew Peter stated that he had a tendency to fall asleep easily and believed that he perhaps fell asleep and missed the crossing where he normally got off. They thought that he probably didn’t want to continue on to the next stop which was farther from home so he decided to chance jumping off the train at Avon.
This tragedy unfortunately did not end here. Peter’s mother, Maria Christina Schaefer Schmidt, did not recover from Peter’s death. She was still grieving her husband’s death; Heinrich “Henry” Schmidt died in 1903. Additionally, Maria had several health issues and died in 1907 at the age of 59 due to her broken heart combined with ill health.
Peter was buried in his parent’s burial plot; he has no headstone.
References
“Card of Thanks.” The La Crosse Tribune, 21 June 1906, p. 8.
“Floral Offering.” The La Crosse Tribune, 21 June 1906, p. 8.
Hug, Paul. “Peter Schmidt.” 22 Oct. 2021.
“Leaps From Train Is Killed By Its Wheels.” The La Crosse Tribune, 18 June 1906, p. 1.
“North Side Woman Succumbs Saturday: Death of Husband and Son Hasten End.” The La Crosse Tribune, 22 July 1907, p. 6.
Such a sad and tragic story. You have related the facts and details very well.
Thank you. This is a story that I only recently learned about. I am amazed at how detailed the newspaper article was.