On This Date in Minnesota History: January 3

January 3, 1902 – Fifteen-year-old Emma Forcier, the only daughter of David Forcier, was killed in the Great Western Railway Yards near her home in St. Paul this afternoon. The girl, along with her brother and some other children, were in the yards picking up pieces of coal that were scattered around.

A long line of box cars was standing on a side track and the children were picking up the coal that was under them. Emma and her brother were under the cars when a switch engine coupled to the upper end of the line of cars started them in motion, Johnnie Forcier, the brother, got out from under the train without incident and tried to tell his sister to lie down and let the car pass. She either didn’t hear him or misunderstood what he said, and attempted to crawl out between the wheels. She put her hands on the outside of the rails when the wheels struck her and both hands were cut off. A brakebeam struck her and knocked her down, injuring her internally.

Children picking up coal in the railway yard¹

As soon as the children who were present saw that the girl was under the wheels they ran to a brakeman, who signaled the engineer to stop the train. Had this not been done, the body of the child would have been ground to pieces beneath the wheels of the moving train. As it was, the wheels only passed over her arms.

When the train was stopped, a number of men who were present hurried to the girl and picked her up. She was still breathing, but died before she could be carried to her home, a few rods away.

Coroner Miller was called and investigated the case. He decided that an investigation was unnecessary, and ordered the remains taken to the county morgue. An autopsy was held over the remains this evening, which revealed the fact that four ribs were broken and that she was injured internally. It is thought that the brakebeam that struck her caused the injuries of which she died.

David Forcier, her father, is employed as a section hand on the Great Western, and was at work in the yards not far from the scene of the accident.

The Saint Paul Globe; “Little Girl Killed. Emma Forcier Is Run Over in Great Western Yards. She was Picking Up Coal. With Her Brother She Crept Under a Line of Cars—Killed When the Engine Started the Train.”; Jan. 4, 1902; p. 2.

¹https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZB7Isj9jZQ4ldvHfO6x51em3ksy8xV8C1PG6lV8yE8AwpplTY_nYeu-3TxwXbtSixlF1aTgOQSyvH8FmaljJwscZQB3H1S3W4FapAyQQS8KdePUvV35vbQQZrFZcG0n6TPUGQ6TUWwdk/s1600/coal+boys.jpg

http://users.frii.com/gbooth/Trains/GreatWestern/Introduction/GWRLogo.jpg

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