Walter C. Carter Killed, Auto Is Struck by Train

Walter C. Carter tragically died in a collision with a passenger train near Waterlick. He was en route to his farm when his car was struck at the Mclnturff crossing. Witnesses suggest he may have tried to stop the car after a brief stop, but it crossed the track, leading to the collision. Mr. Carter, a well-known orchardist and community figure, had diverse business involvements, including feed contracts with the U.S. Government. Active in church, fraternal, and civic activities, he was a respected member of the community. Born near Stephens City, he had lived there for about 25 years. Survived by his wife, two children, and siblings, funeral services were held in Front Royal.

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The community was shocked early Tuesday morning by the death of Walter C. Carter which occurred in a collision accident on the Mclnturff crossing of the Southern railroad two miles beyond Waterlick.

Mr. Carter was en route to his farm just beyond the crossing and on the crossing his car wis struck by the passenger train which leaves Strasburg at 8:15 for Washington. He was thrown clear of the wreckage and fell about fifteen feet from the track. Death is believed to have been instantaneous. The car was carried about forty feet down the track where it ignited and was almost completely burned up.

It is stated by some persons with whom Mr. Carter talked a few minutes before the accident that he had stopped the car a very short distance from the crossing for the purpose of putting a tool in it, and that he then started on toward his farm. The circumstances indicate that when close to the track he saw the approaching train, tried to stop his car but failed to do so until the car had crossed the rail and that he was then unable to get off the track before he was struck by the engine.

An examination by physicians showed comparatively few cuts or abrasions on his body, but it was thought his back or skull had been broken, causing instant death. One leg was also fractured.

Mr. Carter had long been prominent in the business, church and fraternal life of the community. He was a well-known orchardist and owned the large Skyline Orchard two miles south of town. With a brother he owned a large grain and dairy farm on the North Fork of the Shenandoah. He had been engaged in the feed business on a large scale, and had held several forage contracts with the U. S. Government. He was a director of the Citizens National Bank of Front Royal.

An active and energetic man, and of great personal popularity, Mr. Carter was associated in an official capacity with nearly all welfare activities of the community. In church and fraternal circles he was active and influential. He was especially interested in his church, being a member of the local Baptist congregation, and was looked to as a leader in all church activities. He was a member of Unity Lodge No. 146, A. F. & A. M., and of several other Masonic bodies, including the Shrine. He was past president of the Front Royal Rotary Club.

Mr. Carter was born at “Carter Hall,” near Stephens City, Frederick County, and had lived there about twenty-five years. He was a son of the late Mr. George Carter and his wife, who was Miss Eva Carroll Castleman. He is survived by his wife, the former Miss Sue H. Hansbrough, daughter of the late Dr. and Mrs. M. F. Hansbrough, two children and four brothers and four sisters. The children are Miss Catherine, a student at Randolph-Macon Womans College, Lynchburg, and Walter H., a student at V. P. I., Blacksburg.

Surviving brothers are David Carter, of New York; George, Robert and Francis, of Richmond. The sisters are Dr. Eva Nissen, of Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Mrs. Anna L. Tabb, of Charles Town, West Virginia, and Misses Estelle and Louise Carter, of Richmond.

Mrs. Carter is a sister of Dr. Lyle F. Hansbrough, Front Royal physician, and a niece of Judge John Barton Payne, chairman of the American Red Cross, of Washington, D. C. Funeral services will be conducted from the late home on Royal Avenue this morning at 11:00 o’clock by the Rev. T. Eugene West, of the Baptist Church, who will be assisted by the Rev. R. B. Clagett, of the Methodist Church, and Rev. H. W. Shannon, of the Presbyterian Church. Interment will be in the Hansbrough Lot in Prospect Hill Cemetery.

Pallbearers will be J. Frank Forsyth, Hubert H. Marlowe, S. Byrne Downint, Sr., Henry C. Coe, Joseph L. Borden and B. J. Hillidge.

Newspaper	Warren Sentinel
Published	January 11, 1934
Volume	65
Number	41
Page	1
Columns	6-7
Repository	Virginia Chronicle
Retrieved	February 4, 2024

[ 5934 A. L. ]