HOPEWELL, Va. β Ninety years ago this Dec. 22, one of the deadliest bus crashes in U.S. history occurred when a Greyhound bus plunged through an open drawbridge into the icy waters of the Appomattox River in Hopewell, Virginia. All 14 people on board β the driver and 13 passengers β died in the frigid water.
Among the victims were sisters Gertrude and Elizabeth Fisher from McKinney in Dinwiddie County. Elizabeth was 22 and Gertrude was 18. For their family members, the tragedy has never been forgotten, even as it faded from public memory.
"I think of them going in that cold water. It was a very cold night," said Amanda Robinson, whose two aunts died in the crash.
The accident happened in the early morning hours of Dec. 22, 1935, when the bus driver approached the drawbridge that had been opened to allow a tugboat to pass through. The bus crashed through the barricade and plunged into the water within seconds.
"The tender of the bridge at that time, he actually said he could never in a thousand years forget the voices of the people who were crying and screaming as the bus entered the water," said Charles Bennett with the City of Hopewell.
The drawbridge sat very close to where the current Route 10 bridges span the Appomattox River. For Fisher family members who grew up in the area, visiting the location brings back memories of aunts they never knew.
"It makes you reflect and think you know, who they were, what type of aunts they would have been to us. Those kind of things you reflect about, when you are in the area," Robinson said.
The tragedy was front-page news across the United States, but for the Fisher family, it raised more questions than answers about how their grandfather and family learned of the deaths in an era before instant communication.
"All I can remember is this story about the bus coming from New York and that my father's two sisters were on the bus," said Felecia Fisher, another family member.
The accident also had a profound impact on others. Hopewell resident Ruth Tate's mother was supposed to be on that bus but was offered a ride home by a family friend instead.
"She was visiting relatives in D.C. and a friend of the family was also, went up to visit and he heard her talking about needing to catch the bus to come home and he said don't do that, I'll carry you home," Tate said.
Recently, family members discovered rare film footage from the night of the accident, showing the bus being pulled from the river. Watching the footage brought the tragedy into sharper focus.
"To watch that video, you know, you think about them and that tragic situation, not being able to do anything to help yourself or even try to get out of it. That bus down in that water that you're entrapped in. And not just them but all the other people there as well," Robinson said.
The Fisher family members don't want the accident forgotten to time and have hoped for some kind of memorial to honor the victims.
"I want to see something that lets people know that 14 beautiful souls lost their lives here. I want them to be remembered, everyone deserves to be remembered," Felecia Fisher said.
In a surprise announcement, Bennett told the family that the 14 victims won't be forgotten. When the city's River Walk is expanded, there will be a memorial plaza recognizing the tragedy.
"There will be a plaza and on that plaza is where we will have recognition of this event. We really look forward to having their memorial recognition and to tell that story," Bennett said.
The crash led to major safety improvements across the country, including better barricades on bridges. Greyhound also made the decision to have their bus drivers stop before crossing any bridge.
The 14 people killed in the crash were identified as:
- Gertrude Fisher - Dinwiddie County, Virginia
- Elizabeth Fisher - Dinwiddie County, Virginia
- Captain John Belch, Hopewell, Virginia
- Mrs. J.W. Massey, Hopewell, Virginia
- Mrs. Ruby Matthews, Richmond, Virginia
- Mr. Martin Smith, Richmond, Virginia
- Mrs. Martin Smith, Richmond, Virginia
- Laura Davis, Meredithsville, Virginia
- L.G. Alford, Five Points, NC (driver)
- Mrs. Anne W. Duncan, Pittsboro, NC
- Miss Ruth Goodwin, Cary, NC
- Miss Lillian Fairfax, Superior, Wisconsin
- Mrs. T. H. Fairfax, Superior, Wisconsin
- Alma Parkham, New York
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