Home in Havelock, N.C.


Title
Home in Havelock, N.C.
Description
Black and white photograph of the likely home of Samantha and Shaniena Tompakov in Havelock, North Carolina. The photo was originally taken for The Havelock Progress to accompany an article about a train accident. The article tells how two young children, Samantha and Shaniena Tompakov, were nearly killed while playing on the railroad tracks but were saved by the quick thinking of the train’s front end brakeman, Joe Dunn. The youngest child, who was in the middle of the tracks, was ordered to lie down so that she went under the train, while the other child was next to the tracks and escaped with minor injuries.
Date
May 14, 1982
Original Format
photographs
Extent
2cm x 3cm
Local Identifier
0753-b7
Creator(s)
Subject(s)
Spatial
Location of Original
East Carolina Manuscript Collection
Rights
This item has been made available for use in research, teaching, and private study. Researchers are responsible for using these materials in accordance with Title 17 of the United States Code and any other applicable statutes. If you are the creator or copyright holder of this item and would like it removed, please contact us at als_digitalcollections@ecu.edu.
http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/
Permalink
https://digital.lib.ecu.edu/27739
Preferred Citation
Cite this item
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Comments

ROBIN TOMPAKOV May 25 2016

443 392 8240...my cell Shaniena Tompakov cell 443 897 7864... My Daughter Shaniena is well ...And we still talk about this day ...still tears flow ...My mom lived on the track ....Were they were playing at I was cooking out ...Samanthas mom wash washing the car ...... my Daughter was was saved by Jesus ... I was trying yo fine the men .like 5 years ago n befor n eas unable to get help but found out later that 1 had passed away .. and was upsetting .. as I wanted them to see my daughter and how beautiful of a woman she became but that didn't happen....God Bless Robin Tompakov

Shaniena tompakov May 25 2016

I am Shaniena Tompakov if you have anymore pictures or article would love to have them

The Havelock Progress Apr 08 2014

Diamond Anniversary 1952 1982 30 Years of Community Service The Havelock Progress “Gopher Baroque” 31st YEAR NUMBER 3 Wednesday, May 19, 1982 USPS 577-920 15 Cents Train Hits Child; Runs Over Baby by Edward Ellis Managing Editor They are calling it a miracle. The Miracle at Railroad Street. Here’s what happened: A fully loaded Southern Railway train screamed to a halt at a crossing near Havelock Friday afternoon. The engineer, Gerald Johnson of Vanceboro, watched horror struck as one small child was hit and another, a beautiful, blonde, 18-month-old baby disappeared beneath the massive steel locomotive he was fighting so hard to stop. By Tuesday both the children were home, struggling once again for possession of the toy baby car-riage that nearly cost them their lives, the one they pushed in front of The Miracle On Railroad Street Quick Action Saved Children’s Live the 100-car train a few days before. Authorities and the relatives of the children are saying that tow things saved the babies: the quick thinking of the train’s crew members and a touch of miraculous luck. Johnson, the engineer, would say later, after he calmed down some, that it is not uncommon for children to be somewhere on the tracks. “Sometimes they run out in front of the train sort of teasing and then jump out of the way,” Johnson said. Other crew member said kids are always playing by the tracks sometimes placing pennies on the rails to be flattened by trains like the 71,020-ton behemoth Johnson was piloting Friday. Johnson saw the children, Samantha and Shaniena Tom-pakov, from some distance and began blowing his whistle as he ap-proached the Creek Drive Crossing. Creek Dive slips off the end of Hollywood Blvd. and crosses Railroad Street before making con-tact with the rail line and continuing its dirt strip a little farther to an electrical transformer station. The cousins, Samantha, 18 mon-ths, and Shaniena, 2, had wandered away from their house at 210 Railroad Street pushing their baby buggy and had settled down to play at the crossing, between the tracks. The train’s whistle hooted so per-sistently that people downtown Havelock later said they heard it. About 300 yards away, at about 20 miles per hour, Johnson realized at once how small the kids were and that they were not moving. Just like in the movies, Johnson slammed the train into full emergency, locking the wheels and placing the freight train into a heart-stopping slide. Front end brakeman Joe Dunn, also from Vanceboro, raced to the front of the engine via a walkway realizing the train could not stop in time to avoid the children. He saw the two-year-old was standing just to the side of the track and the baby was standing between the rails. As the train reached the crossing, cars banging, still skidding, Dunn yelled for the child to lay down. For some reason, after refusing to move for the oncoming train, 18-month-old Samantha Tompakov dove for the ground and disappeared beneath the train. The two-year-old, who had also stubbornly stood her ground, was struck at the jaw line by the step assembly on the side of the engine and knocked to the ground. The baby was found lying under the rear axle of the train’s second locomotive, knocked unconscious, but otherwise unhurt. Clearance please turn to page 3 staff photo by Edward Ellis Lucky Ones NEARLY KILLED -- A woman identified as the grandmother of Sha-niena Tampakov hold the child, at left, and Patricia Adkins hold here daughter, Samantha. Rescue chief John Julian, at center, heads for the ambulance. Two Engines Went Over Child Auxiliaries Help HPD Get Its Big Job Done by STEPHANIE S. HAILEY staff photo by Edward Ellis Crewmen Moved Fast RIGHT THERE -- Engineer Gerald Johnson points to the spot where an 18-month old baby was pulled from beneath a Southern Railway freight train. IN the inset, brakeman Joe Dunn who ran to the front of the train and told the child to lay down. Close Call (continued from page 1) under the engine is measured in in-ches. Police and rescue squad workers, railroad officials and the Highway Patrol were among those who rush-ed to the scene. They found Shaniena with a large purple swelling on the side of her face and some scratches on her back. Samantha’s only sign was a small scratch on her forehead. Both children were check out at Carteret General Hospital and then sent home. Rescue chief John Julian said it could “not be put into words how lucky those children are” The parents of the children, Robin Tompakov and Patricia Adkins, had nothing but praise for the fast action of the railroad crew. The relatives charged with wat-ching the children Friday were busy washing a car at their home about three lots from the crossing at the time of the incident. Joe Dunn added the final words of wonderment to the incident when he told a reporter at the scene: “I guess there was a reason for me to have been on here. I tried to get off this train today.” Viets Chosen By USAF

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