A TEACHER'S DEATH.

Auckland Star, Volume XLV, Issue 15, 17 January 1914, Page 5

A TEACHER'S DEATH.

JUTdPED "FROM A TEAM CAR. BETWEEN. TWO STOPPING PLACES.. The body of the old man who died after sustaining a fall from a tram car on Thursday night was identified at an inquest this morning as that of Patrick Beaton Ligertwood, aged (35, of Waitomo Caves. Senior-Sergeant Rutledge represented the police, and' Mr W. D. Lysaght the tramway company. William .lohnston, farmer, of Waitomo. said that the deceased, who was the teacher at the Waitomo Caves school, left home at the beginning of the I week to visit the Auckland Exhibition, ! haviug booked a room at one of the city ! hotels in advance. Witness had known . j him for about twelve months, and had found him to be a temperate man. ! Witness understood that deceased was ] unmarried, that he came from Aberdeenshire. Scotland, and that he had no relatives in New Zealand.

William Clark, butcher, residing in Parnell. said that on Wednesday, at about 10.30 p.m., he boarded an outward bound Remuera car at the corner of Customs and Queen .Streets, and sat next to the deceased. Just after the car started the latter said to witness,

"Surely this car's going back. I want to get to Queen Street." Witness told him he would riug the bell, and that the car would then stop at the first stoppingplace, near the railway crossing. With that he stepped on to the front platform of the car. He seemed as though he. was going to step off the car, missed his footing, and pitched forward on his head. The tram was. still in motion, and was not then near tbe stopping-place. Deceased seemed to get excited. He seemed sober. When the car pulled up the deceased seemed to be unconscious. Dr. . Spedding, one of the hospital house surgeons, said the deceased was admitted at 11.15 p.m. on Thursday, and died at 3.5 a.m. yesterday, the cause of death being fracture of the base of the skull. Henry Smithies, motorman, said that he had just a passing glimpse of deceased' jumping off his car from his platform while the car was travelling at eight miles an hour. He got off contrary to the way the, car was going, when the car was midway between two stopping-places. The car was pulled up, and. after a stretcher had been procured, the injured man was sent to the hospital. The coroner found "That the deceased died at Auckland on the 16th inst.. the cause of death being fracture of the base of the skull, which injury was caused by jumping from a tram car while in motion." The coroner remarked that no blame was attachable to anyone.