Detective Walter F. Piatt

Walter F. Piatt

Detective Walter Piatt succumbed to injuries sustained approximately eight hours earlier when he was crushed between two train cars near Colliers, West Virginia.

He and several other detectives were riding on the train just before midnight when the air brakes experienced a malfunction. Detective Piatt was standing between two cars, approximately 75 cars back from the engine, when the malfunction caused them to buckle. He was crushed by the cars and thrown to the ground.

He was taken to the Ohio Valley Hospital in Steubenville, Ohio, where he died the following morning.

Detective Piatt had served with the Pennsylvania Railroad for several years and had previously served with the Bellaire, Ohio, Police Department. He is survived by his wife and six children.