Thomas Severen Houge (1890-1921)

HOUGE, PETERSON

Posted By: Dorian Myhre (email)
Date: 5/17/2021 at 16:53:11

From Nevada Representative June 21, 1921 (page 1)

Electric Car Crashes Into Slater Auto

KELLEY CROSSING CRASH CAUSED DEATH TO TWO; TAKEN TO AMES

Two men were instantly killed at 5:41 o'clock Thursday evening when a southbound interurban car of the Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern railroad crashed into a Ford speedster at a crossing eight miles south of Ames and one-half mile east of Kelley.

Slater Men Killed

The dead are Austin Anfinson, 23, and Thomas Hague, 30, both of Slater, employed as section hands by the interurban company. The men had just played ball and were on their way back to Slater when they were killed. Both belonged to the American Legion, having served overseas.

According to passengers on the interurban, the Ford speedster was closely following another car driven by Mr. Fincham of near Kelley, which stopped at the edge of the crossing to wait for the train to pass.

In Middle of Track

The speedster passed the standing automobile on the south side and its driver apparently-- -- the fast approaching interurban car. Fincham said the Ford was fairly in the middle of the track when struck. It was thrown 50 feet, a mass of debris. Anfinson was thrown to one side of the road, his chest being badly crushed and one leg apparently broken. He was killed instantly, it is thought.

Hague, the elder of the two, was thrown to the opposite side of the road, his skull being fractured and it is probable that he also sustained internal injuries that helped cause his death, which was almost instantaneous according to eye witnesses.

The interurban proceeded on its way to Des Moines. An ambulance was called from Ames, after which the bodies were taken to Ames to an undertaking establishment, and relatives notified of the accident.

C. B. Finch, who with his son, John, was an eye witness to the interurban accident near Kelley, made the following statement to a reporter.

"We were coming west on the highway and looking up the track we could see an interurban car coming. We were on the right hand side of the highway and from ten to twelve feet from the center of the track. The automobile coming from the east was driven by Hague. When the automobile was struck they were almost opposite me, owing to the direction the train was running. My son and I were in my automobile and could plainly see the interurban car coming and saw it long before it reached the crossing. They drove right onto the track. We were on the other side of the sign from the crossing, and I would judge t was about 300 feet from the track. It appeared to me that the boys thought they could beat the train over the crossing. The sun did not interfere with me seeing the car coming down the track. They had no breaks on and I do not believe they ever figured on stopping. They went zip past me. The car whistled for the crossing back some distance. It just looked to me like the boys tried to beat the train over the crossing."

Jurors at the inquest over the bodies of Ausin [sic] Anfinson, 23 and Thomsa [sic] Hague, 30, two Slater men who were instantly killed on the crossing of the Fort Dodge, Des Moines & Southern, a half mile east of Kelley last Thursday afternoon, concluded that death came to them as the result of an "unavoidable accident," no blame placed on the railroad company.

Four Witnesses Heard

A jury was drawn to appear Saturday afternoon to hear the testimony of the four eye witnesses to the accident. Those chosen were Ed Proper, William Thompson and Frank Cameron. The inquest was conducted by Coroner Keller, of Huxley, at the Duckworth undertaking parlors in Ames.

Motorman Berg and Conductor Davidson, who were on the interurban car at the time of the accident, were called on the stand as eye witnesses testifying that the two victims evidently thought they could beat the train over the crossing and that the collision was unavoidable.

C. B. Finch Examined

C. B. Finch and son John, of Kelley, who had sidled up to the track and stopped to allow the interurban to pass, and who saw the Ford speedster dash by them in an effort to get across the track, testified that the men drove right onto the track when they were struck.

The inquest showed that Anfinson had his neck broken, his chest caved in and also sustained a fracture of the skull, while Hague's death resulted from a dislocated neck.

Military Funeral Held

A military funeral was held for Thomas Hauge under the charge of the American Legion post of that place. Hauge was an overseas veteran in the late war, and a member of the Legion at Slater.

Funeral services for Austin Anfinson will be held after his parents arrive in Ames from Los Angeles. Two brothers, H. H. and M. S. Anfinson, reside near Kelley.

SUBMITTER'S NOTE: Thomas Severen Houge was born 10 Jun 1890 in McCook, Red Willow County, Nebraska, the son of Peter Oley Houge and Celia Bertha Peterson.