“DIES AT HOSPITAL
Old Resident of County Dies of Injuries.
Seth Maffit died at Emergency hospital Friday morning from injuries received on the railroad last Tuesday. Deceased was asleep on the C. & E. I. tracks from Papineau to St. Anne, when he was struck by a train which reported at St. Anne as having killed a man. A party sent back found Mr. Maffit lying on the right of way with one foot cut off, his skull fractured and covered with cuts and bruises. He was removed to Kankakee, but never regained consciousness. Deceased leaves six grown children. His sister, Mrs. John Plummer, resides on Maple street, this city, and a brother, Charles, is a farmer in Aroma township. He was 69 years old and well known in the eastern end of the county, where he resided many years. One of his sons is a physician, practicing in Chicago. He came to Kankakee on notification of his father’s case and had charge of the injured man.”
Hmmmm… Who sleeps on railroad tracks and why?
No matter the reason, what a terrible, painful way to die.
I am interested in the line that states he has six grown children. I only know of five. Newspaper mistake? Another child?
So far, this is one of the more unusual deaths I have found in my research. Anyone else have ‘death by train while sleeping on tracks’? 😉