Criminal Justice Matters: H.H.Vaught/J.T.Dempsey, 1936, Winn Parish, LA Submitted by Greggory E. Davies, 120 Ted Price Lane, Winnfield, LA 71483 ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** From: October 1, 1936 Winn Parish Enterprise L. & A. "Hustler" Wrecked Killing Engineer And Officer H. H. Vaught and J. T. Dempsey Fatally Hurt; Three Others Injured in Wreck Near Here H. H. Vaught, 39, of Roanoke, Va., an engineer and J. T. Dempsey of Texarkana, a special officer, were killed in the Monday night derailment of the "Hustler" southbound passenger train of the Louisiana and Arkansas Railroad Company, whose transportation workers are on strike. The derailment occurred at Moore's station a few miles south of Winnfield, while the train was traveling at a rapid speed headed for New Orleans. Two men were killed and W. Delcore, of Shreveport, a fireman, of Shreveport, was burned badly about the legs, while he was pinned beneath the wreckage for more than an hour. S. Beauchamp, the regular engineer, was operating the locomotive at the time of the wreck and was instructing Vaught in Vaught's first run between Shreveport and New Orleans. Beauchamp suffered a sprained back and other injuries. Both of the injured men were brought to the Winnfield clinic where they were given first aid treatment and were sent to Shreveport Tuesday afternoon. The bodies of the dead men were sent to Shreveport thence to their respective homes for burial. Officers who went to the scene of the wreck immediately after news of it gained headway included Sheriff Bryant Sholars of Winn Parish, Deputies G. M. Walsworth, Johnnie Wright, Lewis Sholars, City Marshal H. W. Bass of Winnfield, L. O. Clinton and a Mr. Perkins, special agent, and Captain Doc Allen of the State Police. Beauchamp, engineer and Delcore, fireman, surviving members of the crew, said Wednesday they had looked for "trouble" near Winnfield "ever since the strike started." Delcore said he leaped from the cab of the engine as the engine left the tracks but he was caught between the boiler and the fuel tank and pinned beneath the wreckage. He said he was wedged between the instantly killed guard and the fatally injured relief engineer, who died after being extricated. For one hour and thirty minutes or more, he lay sandwiched between the two men, enveloped in steam and unable to move. Then rescue workers fastened a rope around his body and hoisted him up through the wreckage, his legs and feet painfully scalded by steam and water. Beauchamp, who stayed in the cab, climbed from the wreckage after the engine overturned and was the first one on the ground. He was praised by passengers for staying at his post and preventing the entire train from wrecking. Both men pointed out that the person who tampered with the switch "knew what he was doing" and "was a railroad man." The switch was "cocked," they said, splitting the rail connections completely. Had the switch been "thrown," they said, the engine and train would have been harmlessly sidetracked on a lumber mill spur. Beauchamp, a resident of Marshall, Texas, who said he had been railroading for 25 years, 12 years of which were spent as an engineer, was at the throttle when the wreck occurred. The railroad has offered $5,000 reward for "information effecting the arrest and conviction of the person or persons who displaced the switch." Meanwhile, traffic over the main line has been resumed and all debris has been removed. (The following editorial appeared in this same edition of the Enterprise): A Tragedy The wreck that occurred on the Louisiana and Arkansas Railway, several miles southeast of Winnfield late Monday that claimed the lives of two men and seriously injured others is regretted by the citizens of Winn Parish. The fact that this deplorable accident occurred with the territorial limits of this parish and at a time when there is a disagreement between the railway and its former employees, casts a bad reflection on the striking men, although they may be entirely innocent of any connection with this tragic affair. Members of the striking crew had only the same afternoon before the wreck, made statements in Winnfield that they would win their rights on the merits of their claims, and would not harm any property of the railway. We believe these men were honest in their statements. The Enterprise is not taking sides with either the strikers or the railway company. We are not familiar with the causes of the disagreement between the two. But we do, with other citizens of this parish, deplore the loss of the two human lives that occurred in our midst this week.