Involved was a Seaboard Air Line mixed freight train that derailed over a trestle bridge across the Ogeechee River.

The resulting fire killed 23 people, including entire families and a woman who was eight months pregnant, who were at the river shore in an area popular for swimming and picnicking.

The derailment occurred because of rail beam deflection on the trestle, due to the high ambient temperature and the consequent thermal expansion.

[citation needed] Due to the poor accessibility of the area (limited to a single-lane dirt road), it was very hard for emergency services to reach the scene.

[4] The Interstate Commerce Commission (ICC) found the rail beams deflection as the proximate cause of the derailment.