The machinery was running at the Payne and Joubert Machine and Foundry Company when a sudden burst turned an ordinary morning into tragedy.
Around 10 o’clock in East Birmingham, a flywheel at the plant came apart with deadly force. Pieces of the broken wheel flew through the foundry, striking A. A. Davis, the 28-year-old stationary engineer on duty.
The accident was swift and terrible.
Davis was killed instantly, leaving behind a widow and a workplace stunned by the violence of a machine that had failed without warning.
Flywheel Bursts
EAST BIRMINGHAM, Alabama. — A flywheel in the plant of the Payne and Joubert Machine and Foundry Company at East Birmingham burst yesterday morning about 10 o’clock and A.A. Davis, a stationary engineer, met a horrible death when the flying pieces struck him. His head was crushed to a pulp and his body was practically torn to pieces.
Mr. Davis was 28 years of age. He is survived by a widow. Funeral arrangements over the remains, which are being held at Shaw & Sons, will be announced later, as relatives in Kentucky will have to be communicated with.
Coroner C.L. Spain investigated yesterday afternoon and his verdict is expected to be accidental death. The broken flywheel also did some property damage.
Source: The Birmingham Age Herald. Birmingham, Ala. August 21, 1913.
