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A 6-year-old in Burke County, North Carolina in 1931 may not have realized what an enlightened punishment he received for a derailment that injured four, ripped up some 100 yards of track and cost about $15,000 to repair.
The tragedy of a train derailment on April 23, 1931 in Drexel, North Carolina was not as bad as it might have been: four injured but no one killed, and some 100 yards of track ripped out of the ground.
What compounded the aftermath of the incident was that the wreck had been caused by a 6-year-old boy.
The investigation determined that Charlie Whitener, Jr., had put rocks on the railroad tracks. Charlie lived with his mother, who worked at night and was not able to properly attend to her son. His father was serving a jail sentence and was thus not in the home.
At about 4:15 in the afternoon of April 23, Charlie placed the rocks and hid behind a fence to get ready to watch as the train, traveling nearly 60 mph, approached. The conductor failed to see the rocks and the train derailed and overturned.
Whitener confessed and was quoted in the local paper: “It was a lot of fun seeing the cars pile up and the steam coming out. I laughed about it, just like I did when I wrecked my toy train.”
Four people were taken to the hospital with injuries, but no one was killed. It was estimated that repair costs would be $15,000.
The sheriff’s investigation found another child witness who had seen Charlie place the rocks.
Spokespeople from the railroad concluded that Charlie was responsible, but they did not want to prosecute him. They wanted only to keep him away from the railroad, as his mother’s home sat on a bank right by the tracks.
Charlie went before Juvenile Court Judge Bowers with a social worker. The social worker informed the judge that Charlie needed his tonsils and adenoids removed. With the approval of three railroad representatives, Charlie’s mother and his grandfather, the judge included the removals as part of Charlie’s sentencing. In addition, Charlie would live with his grandfather, a well-respected farmer, until his father was out of jail.
Charlie would then go from hanging out on the railroad tracks to learning farming skills from his grandfather.
