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1955 Spring City, Tennessee school bus disaster...
1955 Spring City, Tennessee school bus disaster...
Item # 719166
August 23, 1955
THE DETROIT FREE PRESS, Aug. 23, 1955
* Spring City, Rhea County, Tennessee - TN
* School bus & freight train collision - disaster
The front page has a banner headline: "TRAIN HITS SCHOOL BUS; 11 DIE" with lead-in: "Score Are Hurt in Tennessee Tragedy" and two related photos. (see images)
Complete with 34 pages, small binding holes along the spine, nice condition.
background: On August 22, 1955, tragedy struck Spring City, Tennessee, when a school bus carrying 47 children was struck by a southbound freight train at a railroad crossing just blocks from the local elementary school. The bus driver, attempting to cross despite flashing warning signals, drove onto the tracks where the train—traveling around 45 miles per hour—smashed into the rear of the bus, tearing it apart. Eleven children were killed—ten instantly and one later in the hospital—while over 30 others were injured, many seriously. The small community was devastated, and emergency aid came from across the region, with private citizens using their vehicles to transport survivors to distant hospitals. The driver was later convicted of involuntary manslaughter and served a one-year sentence. In response to the disaster, Tennessee quickly passed a law mandating that all school buses must stop, look, and listen at every railroad crossing—a policy that spread nationwide and eventually became a federal standard. Today, a memorial stands at the restored Spring City depot, and the town continues to honor the lives lost with annual remembrances, preserving the legacy of one of the deadliest school bus-train accidents in U.S. history.
Category: The 20th Century
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$52.00
