THREE INJURED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 20, 25 January 1939, Page 12

THREE INJURED.

CRASH ON BRIDGE. ONE ESCAPES DROWNING. HUBLEO OCT OF TRUCK. (By Telegraph.—Own Correspondent.) BUCKLAND, this day. Three men were injured, .two of them seriously, when a light truck and a heavy petrol lorry met in head-on collision on Black's Bridge, Buckland, this morning. Catapulted over the side of the bridge into the water below, the* driver of the truck. Mr. Frederick George Keane, aged 21, a Buckland contractor, had a lucky escape from drowning. As it was, he suffered concussion and a broken arm, as well as cute, abrasion* and shock. A 19-year-old Maori labourer named Hira, who is employed by Mr. Keane and was a passenger in his truck, suffered cuts about the head and injuries to his left knee. The petrol lorry, owned by the Shell Oil Company, was being driven by Mr. C. E. Stembridge, of Pukekohe, who was least seriously hurt. He suffered cuts and abrasions. The bridge is a narrow one, about two miles from Tuakau. and the approaches on both sides are difficult. When the vehicles met, the impact sent Mr. Keane's truck crashing into the iron railing at the side of the bridge, | the vehicle coming to a stop with two wheels hanging over the rails. ' This caused the driver to fall into the water below, while Hira was flung out on to the roadway. Mr. Keane's truck was almost totally wrecked, and the other vehicle was extensively damaged. The injured men were treated by Dr. A. T. Begg, of Pukekohe, and" Mr. Keane and the Maori. Hira, were brought to the Auckland Hospital in a St. John ambulance. The condition of both is serious.