The railway accident on the Bostian Bridge killed 23 people on August 27, 1891, west of Statesville, North Carolina, when a Richmond & Danville Railroad train derailed. On the same day, 119 years later, a trespassing pedestrian was hit and killed by a train on the bridge. Accident Steam Locomotive No. 166 of train No. 9 of the Richmond & Danville Railroad (R & D) left Statesville on August 27, 1891, at around 2:30 a.m. with a five-car train: a baggage car, a first- and second-class car, a Pullman sleeper, and the railroad superintendent's private car [Bridger's] from the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The train was 34 minutes late and travelled at probably 35 to 40 miles per hour (55–65 km/h) to catch up on the delay. Less than five minutes after the train had left Statesville, it derailed and crashed from the Bostian Bridge, a 60- foot (18-meter), five-bay natural stone and brick bridge that spans Third Creek. The sleeping car hit the ground 153 feet (47 m) from where it had left the bridge. Several of the less heavily injured survivors ran back to Statesville to report the disaster. Rescue workers made their way to the train, and took the injured to Statesville, which did not have a hospital, so they needed to be accommodated and cared for in private homes. The dead were taken to a tobacco warehouse for identification. After the rescue, thousands of onlookers came. The photographers William Stimson from Statesville and JH Van Ness from Charlotte took pictures and sold hundreds of them in the following weeks. An illustration of the accident illustrated with a Van Ness photo appeared in Frank Leslie's Weekly, an illustrated newspaper. Investigation Four days after the accident, a judicial inquiry concluded that the accident had been caused by unknown persons removing spikes from the rails, which were probably in neglected condition. As R & D was experiencing financial difficulties, those who feared large claims for compensation worked feverishly to find the alleged saboteurs. For months railroad detectives swarmed through the area. Several people were detained and interrogated, but eventually released. In 1897, two men who were already in the state penitentiary were convicted of alleged confessions to other inmates causing the accident. Subsequent events According to legend, on the anniversary of the accident, the screeching of the wheels and screams of the passengers can still be heard, and the