On this day one hundred years ago a logging rail car belonging to the Suncrest Lumber Company was being loaded with cut timber in the mountains above Sunburst, North Carolina.
Suddenly the partially-loaded car broke loose and began to run backwards down the track, gaining speed as it went down the mountain. It did this for 14 miles, until it left the track at a curve above a trestle, plunging down into a boarding house sitting about 20 yards from the tracks at Sunburst.
Of the residents of the house, Mrs. Charles Manis was killed instantly, Mrs. M. Shelton was fatally injured and Mrs. John Magah and her 8-year-old daughter were hurt in the crash. A stove was also overturned, causing the house to catch fire and burn, which in turn caused severe burns to the victims.