Eight years after the accident, Texas’ first railroad overpass was built over the tracks in Round Rock. The terrible accident prompted politicians to re-examine railway safety in the state. The legacy of the Immortal Ten is far-reaching. In the Januissue of the paper, Hawkins wrote, “Though Death’s icy fingers have written ‘Finis’ across the life of each of the immortal ten who are today mourned, their memory will never perish.” Though individual memorials exist for each member of the deceased, the group lives on in popular memory as the Immortal Ten, a title coined by Waco Times-Herald reporter Jack Hawkins. A mayoral proclamation saw local businesses closed, and the city’s telephone system shut down for the hour of the service. Baylor hosted a memorial service that drew over three thousand people. Walker, and William Winchester.īaylor University and the greater community of Waco deeply felt the loss of the ten. Sadly, ten young men did not survive the collision: Jack Castellaw, Sam Dillow, Merle Dudley, Ivey Foster, Robert Hannah, Robert Hailey, Clyde (Abe) Kelley, Willis Murray, James L. In the immediate aftermath of the crash, local residents and medical personnel worked hard to treat the injured and identify the dead. Tragically, only half of the bus managed to clear the tracks before the train caught the vehicle’s rear end. Several students jumped or were thrown out of the bus as it lurched over the tracks. When the bus failed to get up to speed in time, Potter swerved in a desperate attempt to avoid collision. He pressed the accelerator and tried to push the bus past the tracks ahead of the train. By the time Potter saw the train, it was too late to stop on the slick street. As the train neared the crossing the engineer fired its whistle, but no one on the bus heard the screech. The Sunshine Special was behind schedule, so its engineer urged it ahead at a speed of sixty miles per hour. Fast approaching from the west was the Sunshine Special, a northbound passenger train. #Texas overpass rock driverDriver Joe Potter had a difficult time navigating the unfamiliar road due to poor visibility and slick road surfaces.Īfter three and a half hours of driving, the bus reached the railroad crossing in Round Rock. Heavy rain made the lengthy ride to Austin treacherous. In addition to players, the vehicle carried managers, yell leaders, and fans. On January 22, 1927, tragedy struck Baylor University when a collision near Round Rock, Texas, ended the lives on ten students en route to an athletic event.Īboard the bus that day were twenty-two young men from Baylor University bound for a basketball game against the University of Texas.
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