The following gruesome accident happened in Gary, Illinois, in 1915 when a car skidded from the road and into a swamp. The details at the end of the article paint a horrifying image.
Three Die as Auto Hurtles into a Swamp
An auto went speeding down W. 15th Road toward Gary last night. On both sides of the road lies a deep swamp. A few blocks ahead is a railroad crossing.
A train whistle blew. The driver set his brakes. A little pin in the steering gear snapped and the heavy car skidded from the road into the swamp.
There was a scream and a shout as the front wheels of the car plunged through the thin ice of the mush and a splash as it turned turtle, smothering two men and a woman in the ooze.
The victims are Melvin Goodrode, butterine salesman; John Thompson, his brother-in-law; and Mrs. Anna Adkins, a demonstrator for the Freidman Butterine Co,
The red light of the tail lamp glaring across the swamp caught the eye of R. M. Scofield, a U.S. mail clerk.
Scofield saw the leg of a woman protruding from under the car. The Gary police and fire department was called to remove the bodies.
Source: The day book. (Chicago, Ill.), 02 Dec. 1915.
