Tragic Rail Accident Claims Puyallup Resident
A local man was struck and killed by a Northern Pacific train near the Stevenson mill.
The story, cleaned up
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James McLean, a prominent resident of Puyallup, was run down and killed by a westbound Northern Pacific train at about 6:30 o'clock last night. Both legs were cut off, and he died before medical aid reached him. McLean was walking along the tracks near the Stevenson mill, on the outskirts of Puyallup, when the train approached from behind. He was an employee of the Washington Veneer Company's plant near Meeker Junction. Coroner Shaver was notified of the accident and instructed Undertaker E. J. Freas to take charge of the remains and make an investigation.
“McLean was walking along the tracks near the Stevenson mill, on the outskirts of Puyallup, when the train approached from behind.”
Rail safety and industrial zoning were constant points of friction in early 20th-century Tacoma, where tracks often sliced directly through neighborhoods and workplaces. The tragedy highlights the constant danger posed by unchecked rail traffic through developing industrial centers—a concern that remains relevant in modern debates over rail expansion and pedestrian safety along the Sound.
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