CORONER'S COURT.

Auckland Star, Volume LVII, Issue 152, 29 June 1926, Page 5

CORONER'S COURT.

TWO INQUIRIES TO-DAY.

FATALITIES AT NEW LYNN. j — OPEN" VERDICTS RETURNED. I Two foronial inquiries were held tais morning before Mr. W. R. McKean, S.M. The inquiry touching the death o. Mrs. E.i Haste! iYX who die.! from injuries received through being knocked down by the iorn at New- Lynn on June .">. was concluded. Owen Courtney, the driver o; the lorry =aid that about ."5 p.m. on June 5. he Vas driving his trm-k to Henderson and jus: past the I ongregationai Church. New Lynn. h«> saw a woman standing on the left haul sine of the concrete. There was a bus about 230 yards away in the direction of New Lynn. Witness thought the woman was waiting for the bus. When he got within 20 yards of the woman, he blew his horn to let her know that he was pass-

ing. "When I was about five or six feet away from her." said witness, "the woman started to cross the road in front of mc. I blew the horn again and shouted out. My wife, who was sitting in the seat with mc. also shouted out. The van struck the woman and went over her. I swerved to the right to try and pass the woman, but she was too close. When the van passed over the woman. I went on until I got on to the risht side of the road out of the way of the traffic. When we went back to the woman we saw that she was badly hurt and was unconscious. We put the woman in the van and shortly after a lady doctor arrived. Later Dr. Pettit came." The woman was taken to the hospital in the ambulance and she died, I understand, a few hours later." Witness said he was travelling about 10 to 12 miles per hour, which was his usual speed. Witness could have stopped the van sooner but he wanted to get clear of the traffic because he knew there was a bus coming clown the road. His brakes were in first class order, for his vehicle was a new one.

Jack Dallimore. a boy of eleven years of age, described the accident. When the van was about two yards away from deceased, she stepped out onto the concrete. The man and woman in the van shouted out to her, but she did not take any notice. The car struck the woman and passed over her. It carried her along a little distance and the witness saw her lying on the road. The car wns ..ravelling slowly, and the driver blew his horn. After further evidence had been taken, the Coroner found that deceased died from shock following injuries received through being accidentally knocked down by p. lorry. There was no evidence to suggest that the lorry was travelling at an excessive speed. The driver blew his horn and the headlights were lit. Fall From Lorry. The second inquiry touched the death of Patrick Joseph Teevan (20) who died from injuries received through falling from the back of a lorry at New Lynn on June 12. Samuel John French, driver of the lorry, said that he was bringing a team of footballers back from a match. Near the New Lynn bridge, he was told that someone had fallen off the back of the lorry. He stopped immediately and saw two men lying on the roadway about fifty yards behind. A doctor who happened to be passing stopped and advised witness to take one of the men to the hospital. This man was taken to the hospital in a private car. The other man, who said that he was all right, got back on the lorry. Witness found out later that the men fell from the lorry through "sky-larking." One man fell and pulled the other with him. Douglas James Hannant stated that he was on the lorry and in leaning over to talk to deceased, he over-balanced. As he fell, witness grabbed Teevan and pulled him with him. He saw him later, when he appeared to be well. Further evidence was given, in which it was stated that Teevan was taken to the hospital next morning. Dr. R. G. B. Lusk said that deceased was admitted to the hospital on the morning of June 1.3. He was unconscious and was suffering from brain hemorrhage. An operation was performed and a large clot of blood was removed from the skull. Deceased failed to rally and died about 0.30 p.m. that evening. A verdict was returned that deceased die from hemorrhage following an accidental fall from a lorry. There was no suggestion of blame "attachable to anybody.