A veteran employee of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was crushed to death beneath the wheels of a freight train Thursday afternoon at the Camden Street yards, near the Corning Glass Plant, according to railroad officials.

Frank A. Leach, 54, an employee of the B and O for the past 28 years, was working as yard conductor when the wheels of a box car ran over him.

Officials of the B and O were unable to supply any specific cause of the accident which occurred around 4:10 p.m.; however, persons on the scene at the time related that the victim went around behind the train which was backing up, and apparently slipped on a wet railroad tie or wet track, falling under the wheels.

An air jack was used to raise the corner of the train in order to free the victim's body. Memorial Chapel ambulance personnel crawled under the train to remove the body.

Parkersburg City Police were on the scene to assist railway police.

Born in Parkersburg, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Leach of Parkersburg, he was a member of the North Parkersburg Baptist Church, Parkersburg Lodge 169, AF and AM, the York Rite Bodies, the Shrine, and the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. He was also owner and operator of the Becky-Lu Drive In Restaurant at Lubeck.

Survivors in addition to his parents include his widow, Mrs. Wilma Stephens Leach; two sons, Jack W. Leach, Lubeck, and Michael S. Leach, Vienna; one brother, Paul Leach, Parkersburg; a sister, Mrs. Eva Starr, Charleston, and four grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by one brother, Robert.

Funeral services will be Monday 2 p.m. at the Leavitt Funeral Home. Burial will be in Sunset Memory Gardens with Masonic graveside rites being conducted by Parkersburg Lodge 169.

Friends may call at the funeral home after noon Saturday.

** taken from the LEACH reunion book **

A veteran employee of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad was crushed to death beneath the wheels of a freight train Thursday afternoon at the Camden Street yards, near the Corning Glass Plant, according to railroad officials.

Frank A. Leach, 54, an employee of the B and O for the past 28 years, was working as yard conductor when the wheels of a box car ran over him.

Officials of the B and O were unable to supply any specific cause of the accident which occurred around 4:10 p.m.; however, persons on the scene at the time related that the victim went around behind the train which was backing up, and apparently slipped on a wet railroad tie or wet track, falling under the wheels.

An air jack was used to raise the corner of the train in order to free the victim's body. Memorial Chapel ambulance personnel crawled under the train to remove the body.

Parkersburg City Police were on the scene to assist railway police.

Born in Parkersburg, a son of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Leach of Parkersburg, he was a member of the North Parkersburg Baptist Church, Parkersburg Lodge 169, AF and AM, the York Rite Bodies, the Shrine, and the Brotherhood of Railway Trainmen. He was also owner and operator of the Becky-Lu Drive In Restaurant at Lubeck.

Survivors in addition to his parents include his widow, Mrs. Wilma Stephens Leach; two sons, Jack W. Leach, Lubeck, and Michael S. Leach, Vienna; one brother, Paul Leach, Parkersburg; a sister, Mrs. Eva Starr, Charleston, and four grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by one brother, Robert.

Funeral services will be Monday 2 p.m. at the Leavitt Funeral Home. Burial will be in Sunset Memory Gardens with Masonic graveside rites being conducted by Parkersburg Lodge 169.

Friends may call at the funeral home after noon Saturday.

** taken from the LEACH reunion book **