CRUSHED BY TRUCK.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 205, 30 August 1937, Page 8

CRUSHED BY TRUCK.

DEATH OF QUARRYMAN LORRY'S DEFECTIVE BRAKES. ■■ ■ * ACCIDENT AT HT. WELLINGTON The death of Luka Zidich, a Croatian quarryman, aged 23 years," who died at the , Auckland Hospital on August 2 from injuries sustained at a quarry at Panorama Road, Mount Wellington,, was found by the city coroner. (Mr. F. K. Hunt), at en inquest this morning, to have been caused by haemorrhage of the liver resulting from his having been crushed between a wall of rock and a motor truck out of control at the quarry mentioned. Dr. F. N. McFarlane said that when Zidich was admitted to hospital on August 2 he showed signs of extensive internal bleeding. This was consistent with the statement of the assistant pathologist who performed an autopsy that there was a large tear in the. liver, which was ruptured, resulting in a bleeding which was the immediate cause of death. How. Accident Happened. The circumstances of the accident at the quarry were described by Peter Barbarich, head driver at the quarry, who stated that on August 2 he was driving a motor lorry which had been lent on trial and which was. used for carrying loads in the quarry between the rock face aeid the crusher. It was not used at all on the road.

He drove the truck to the rock-face where Zidich was working with others and parked it with its back to the wall. The truck was on a declivity of about one in four . and about 10ft t from the wall. He saw Zidich working with two h other men on the .rock face when he parked the car.

, He put all the brakes on when he parked the truck and put the gear in neutral. A little later, when he was about to use the truck, he cranked it up. As he did eo he thought he heard a click and the truck started to run backwards. He called out a general warning, ran to the cab and put the car into forward gear. As he got into the cab he heard ■ Zidich call out, and saw him caught between the back of the truck and the rock wall, which he was facing. Saw a Billy of Water. : When the truck had gone forward two other men had gone to help Zidich, and witness then saw a billy of water which had been placed at the foot of the wall. If Zidich had "ducked down" when witness called out he would have saved himself. Witness at once drove Zidich to the hospital in his motor car. He had driven the truck for some days, and till then had found the hand brake effective.

Two quarrymen who were working with Zidich oh the rock face stated that the latter left them for a minute, but they did not notice that he had gone down to the water billy until they heard Barbarich call a warning, and they then looked down to see Zidieh being caught belt high between the back of the truck and the face of the rock.

Constable W. A. Maguire, a licensed motor mechanic, stated that on August 3 he made an examination of the truck, finding that the foot brake was uselees and the hand brake defective, a etud which was neceseary to keep it in place on the ratchet being missing, having been broken apparently for some time. In reply to.the coroner, witness stated that the vibration of the engine when the car was cranked up might possibly have caused the lever of the hand brake to slip off th 6 ratchet," and might account for the "click" mentioned by ■Barbarich in h's statement. The truck was eight or nine years old.