A Ride That Cost a Tramp Both Feet
Trying to steal a freight ride near Toppenish, a man calling himself P. McAllister falls under the wheels of a Northern Pacific train.
North Yakima, April 4 — Special. — A tramp, giving his name as P. McAllister, fell under the wheels of a Northern Pacific freight train while trying to steal a ride this evening and had both feet cut off. The accident occurred near Toppenish station. The injured man has been taken in charge by the county authorities. He will probably die tonight.
“The injured man has been taken in charge by the county authorities. He will probably die tonight.”
The "tramp" was the era's unhoused traveler, riding freight in a region that policed and prosecuted such movement as a crime. The instinct to treat a person crushed under a train as a cautionary tale, rather than a casualty, still shadows today's debates over homelessness and the policing of public space, including along the rail corridors.
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