CASUALTIES

Press, Volume L, Issue 15022, 17 July 1914, Page 8

CASUALTIES

FATAL ACCIDENT AT LYTTELTON.

MAN" KILLED ON THE WHARF.

CRUSHED BETWEEN TWO TRUCKS.'

At about 8.45 last evenng, an accident, terminating fatally, occurred ou No. 6 wharf, Lyttelton, the victim being an elderly man named James Eady. At the time of the accident, shunting operations wero being carried out in connexion with discharging the Kaiapoi Shipping Company's steamer Kairaki, which had arrived earlier in the day from the West Coast with a caTgo of timber. It is supposed that Eady, who was walking along the waterfront, attempted to pass between two rakes of empty trucks which, striking each other at the moment that he was stepping across the rails, crushed him between tho buffers. Nothing was noticed by the shunters, Messrs Scott and Grimson, to indicate that an accident had occurred until the former, moving towatds the trucks to couple them, heard a groan, and looking down, discovered the uufortunate man lying across the rails. Within a few minutes, Eady was taken across the railway yards to tho casualty ward, where he was attended by Drs. Nowell and Upham, but was found to be so severely cmshed that he died about a quarter of an hour after admission. The deceased was a man of about sixty-three years of age, and has a family at Wanganui. He was formerly employed by the Railway Department, but retired on superannuation a few years ago. In January last he loft Wanganui for Lyttelton, and secured employment with Mr W. Twomey, sailinaKer. He is believed to have come out to New Zealand from Scotland about tho year 1874 in the Now Zealand Shipping Company's old sailing .hip Rangitikei.

While cycling home on Wednesday afternoon, Mr.W. Johnson, of tho Deeds Office, escaped death by a narrow margin. He was going along Oxford terrace, not far from Barrett's chemist's shop, and at the same timo a taxi-cab appeared coming from the direction of the hospital. When the "taxi" had got to Montreal street, Mr Johnson was about half-way across, and in turning swiftly the taxi-cab collided with the cyclist. The car struck him on the right arm, knocked him over, and all but ran over the lower part of his body. Chief-Detective Bishop was standing on the Montreal street Bridge and saw the whole occurrence. He picked Mr Johnson np and .took him into Barrett'£ shop where he was attended to, and found to be suffering from abrasions and shock. Tho probability is that an information will be laid against the "taxi" driver on a charge of exceeding tho speed limit.