DEATH DUE TO DROWNING

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 13558, 16 September 1944, Page 2

DEATH DUE TO DROWNING

FATALITY AT LOWER KAIMAI Man’s Fall Into Drain Evidence At Inquest A finding that death was due to drowning following concussion as a result of falling over a hank into a drain in which there was a bioKen earthenware pipe, was returned by the District Coroner (Mr C. T. McFarlane) at the inquest yesterday into the death of‘John Edward Ormsby, married, aged 38, a Public Woilcs Department employee, whose body was found in a drain at Lower Kaimai by a fellow-worker on .Thursday. Constable H. G. Hodge conducted proceedings for the police. Evidence of identification v>as given by the father of the dead man, Edwin Gilbert Ormsby. of Bethlehem. His son, he said, was married and resided with his wife and family of eight children at Wairoa. V' it-. ness last saw his son alive at Kaimai at 9.30 a.m. on September 14. He was then in the company of Clifford Matthews and witness’ brother, Bob Ormsby. He was assisting in building a. culvert, having been in the employ of the Public Works Department for about a fortnight. He was 38 years of age and witness had never known him to suffer from any illness. Clifford Matthew’s, a tractor driver employed by the Public Works Department, said that during the past five days he had been employed at Low’er Kaimai in company with John Edward Ormsby and Robert Paki Ormsby. They were building a culvert about a chain off the main road and 15 miles from Tauranga. At 1.40 p.m. on September 14, John Ormsby left the job he was on, for a short period. He was absent for about ten minutes, when his uncle said to witness, “I w’onder w’here John is? He is a long time away.” Witness replied that he thought he w’ould be all. right, but with that he left off -working to go and see where he w r as. Witness had a look in the river nearby but could not find him. He went down the river for about three chains and then back up the river, but could see no sign of him. He then returned to the main road. On looking down into a small culvert, they saw’ Ormsby lying face down in about four to six inches of running water in .a drain. Witness was unable to say how Ormsby came to be in the drain. He ran to him and pulled him out. He appeared to be dead. He placed Ormsby across his knees and tried to get some water out of him. He then pulled him partly on to the bank and applied artificial respiration. Pall Over Stone Wall In thq opinion of witness, Ormsby had gone down the clay bank on an angle and appeared to have become tangled up in the blackberry. There were footmarks on the clay bank. He then appeared to have gone over a. stone wall. The distance from the top of the wall to where he was found was 14 feet. “From the position in which I found him he appeared to gp Headfirst over the stone wall into the drain,” added w’itness. “When I picked him up his nose and mouth were submerged in the water. He had lacerated wounds on his left forehead and on his right arm near the elbow there was a large bruise. There was also a bruise on the right side of the face. In my opinion when he fell he was stunned, and fallingface down in the drain as he did, he was drow’ned.” Ormsby, added witness, was a strong, healthy man. There was a broken earthenware pipe in the bottom of the drain. Dr. .1. Mark said, in evidence, that at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday, he received a telephone message from the engineer of the Public Works Department. to the effect that there had been an accident at Lower Kaimai. He immedaitely went to the scene of the accident, arriving there at approximately 3 o’clock. The deceased was lying on a hillside close to a small stream. His clothes were wet through. He had a small scalp wound two inches long on the right forehead. The right side of his cheek was bruised. His right elbow and forearm were badly bruised. Witness could find no other serious injury. He could not find any evidence of fracture of the neck. Prom the history supplied to him by Orrasby’s workmates he came to the conclusion that he had died from drowning, following concussion. He looked a perfectly healthy young man. Witness saw the marks on the clay

bank where Ornisby had apparent:; slipped above the stone wall, T;? distance from the top of the stc: ; wall to where the deceased was w to have been found was 14ft. Th creek where he apparently k found, had stones at the bottom d it. Witness did not notice a bate earthenware pipe, but if there w a broken earthenware pipe in th bottom of the drain it would toaccounted for the wound on the t. ceased’s forehead. Robert Paki 0 ms by, a Public Works Departs employee, and an uncle of the toman, gave similar evidence to fc given by Matthews. Evidence of Oversew Arthur Laurie Wallace, an seer of the Public Works Depa merit, in charge of various «*' including Matamata-Tauranpa highway, said that at about 2.30 p on Thursday, he was informed i--Ormsby had met with an accident c. the Kaimai Road. He went outlie locality with Constable and Doctor Mark arrived a fej ■ utes later. Ornisby was dead »•- he arrived. He appeared to fallen from a .stone wall era mbeut about 12ft high into a > drain. j. To the Coroner, witness s examined the locality "hete was found. There «** *». earthenware pipe lying at ie , of the drain. There pieces of broken earthen* and if lie had tsllcn ~„.-J would account for the 3 * on his forehead. The dl ’ op # top of the stone wall to the almost vertical. _ _ Evidence of a visit o y of the accident was als ° . Constable Hodge. He sat mediately above the stone a clay bank sloping the top of the stone cla of about 30 degrees. bore marks as though had slipped down it nea of the bank that .*»■“* k,. It also had blackbem 65 it. and witness was o , t f that ° rmsb ; aPP^: "^d a rJheseblack^ped over the stone * drain below, injutmo fell which temporarill unconscious. Falling di j - into the water below was naturally drown< T seve ral tom of the drain we! *ar? pieces of and if the deceased on these pieces or aCf( # , ware it would the wound on Ins concU ss# f also account foi gndi c " In delivering 11 Coroner expresse , at p-to with the dead man s