TRAMWAY INQUIRY.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 55, 5 March 1917, Page 7

TRAMWAY INQUIRY.

THE KHYBER PASS ACCIDENT. A TIRED MOTORMAN. , An-inquiry into the tramcar accident at Newmarket on February 21 was held by the Auckland Electric Tramways Company management recently, and the motorman's statement has been accepted as"a satisfactory explanation of .the mci dent. It will be remembered that on the night of February 21 a tramcar proceeding down Khyber Pass gathered speed and got out of control. When it reached Newmarket the vehicle crashed over the

sidewalk into an archway between the Newmarket branch of the Auckland Savings Bank and the adjoining Royal George Hotel. The Railway Department district engineer and the secretary of the Tramway Employees' Union were present at the inquiry. The -motorman explained that on the day in question he had been awake from 4 a.m., -when his house was damaged by the cyclone. He commenced his duties between 3 and 4 p—*., and was very tired towards the evening. While descending the Khyber Pass rise he had dozed, ana did not remember the car travelling at such a speed that it passed over the linC3 at Newmarket. It was then that he iwas aroused by being thrown from his seat. He had been considerably in jured by the accident, .and 'had not yet completely recovered. The Tramway Company state that the motorman is one of their most trusted employees, and that the statement is accepted as a satisfactory explanation of the circumstances surrounding the accident.