Volume 11 , Issue 5

7/24/1929 - R.I. Section Crew Is Hit By Lightning

7/24/29 article in NW Oklahoma newspaper -- This story appeared in the Alva Review Courier, July 24, 1929.

"S. M. Murphy Hurt Seriously At Ashley - S. M. Murphy, 54 years old, Rock Island railroad section hand, was in a serious condition here today after being struck by a bolt of lightning late Monday at Ashley.

The same bolt which struck Murphy rendered T. C. Brannon, 64, and Clarence Bittner, 31, unconscious. Neither was seriously injured.

Burned About Chest

Murphy was brought here in the Fowitz ambulance. he was burned about the chest and head and his chin and chest punctured by the force of the bolt.

The men were working in Ashley when the bolt struck. J. F. Armstrong, section foreman, said today that he had left them to return a pitchfork to a nearby elevator and was about 150 feet away when the lightning struck. He felt a blast of hot air and then heard a sharp clap of thunder.

Three Unconscious

he turned to hear claude Cushenberry, 21, a fourth member of the crew cry out. Running back to where the men were working he found them lying across the rails unconscious. Cushenberry was unhurt.

Murphy's clothing was blown from his body to his waist and his shirt torn in small pieces. The crown of his hat was blown out. The hair on the right side of his head was burned off, is chest was burned and small punctures made in his chin and chest.

Murphy Believed Dead

thinking him dead, Armstrong and men who ran from nearby buildings, left Murphy and began working with the other two men who were groaning in agony. A few minutes later Murphy was seen to move and they began administering first aid treatment. The other men were soon revived.

The ambulance brought Murphy here and he was said to have a good chance for recover.

Scarcely a cloud was in the sky when the bolt struck, Armstrong said. There was one small cloud over them, from which the lightning came. It struck the end of a tie in the center of the group and the men are not believed to have received its full force.
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