THREE KILLED

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21355, 24 December 1934, Page 12

THREE KILLED

Gar Plunges Into Gully

BODIES FOUND AFTER SEARCH [THE PKESS Special Service.} DUNEDIN, December 23. Three men were killed on Thursday afternoon when the car in which they were travelling left the road and plunged 300 feet into a deep gully between Rae's Junction and Beaumont. The men killed were:— Andrew Aitken, garage manager, Gore. W. Stiven, a shepherd employed by R. H. Edie, of Edievale. William McPherson Moore, commercial traveller, Auckland, representing Amalgamated Tobacco Man" rturers, Ltd. Aitken and Stiven. were married men, but Moore was single. Aitken left Gore on Thursday morning driving a car which he used for demonstration. He arrived at Rae's Junction Hotel later in the day, and there met Stiven and Moore. At present the new Rae's Junction Hotel, which is being built to replace the .>ld one, which was destroyed by fire, is not completed, and the three men left about 4.40 p.m. for Beaumont, where they intended to have their evening meal. They were not heard of again. On the .following day enquiries were made from Gore concerning Aitken, but it was thought then that he must be engaged somewhere along the route on business. When nothing was heard of the party on Saturday, the licensee of the Rae's Junction Hotel, Mr Gollop, and Mr George Richards, of Heriot, decided to search the route along which the car had gone. A short distance from Rae's Junction their attention was attracted by the sun's rays striking a bright object at the bottom of a deep gully alongside the road. They descended about 200 or 300 feet into the gully and there found the car, battered into a wreck, with the bodies of the three men. Death had apparently b ~n instantaneous. The bodies were later removed by the police to Rae's Junction, where an inquest was opened today.

CAR HITS TELEGRAPH POLE YOUNG WOMAN KILLED (fRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGBAM.) AUCKLAND, December 23. A young woman was killed and three other persons were injured when the car in which they were travelling left the road and crashed into a telegraph pole at Thames at 12.30 a.m. to-day. The victims are: — Killed Miss Mabel Horrox, aged about 25, a daughter of Mr and Mrs W. Horrox, of Kimihia, Huntly. Injured Ralph Shaw, aged 25, broken leg and arm Mrs Knowles, broken nose. Miss Ivy Cordes, aged 24, severe gash in the hip.

The driver, J. Haynes, a baker's assistant, aged 22, single, and three other passengers escaped with only minor injuries. The seven passengers, all residents of Thames, were returning to their homes after attending a dance at Kopu, about two miles south of Thames. It is stated that a defect in the steering gear caused the car, an old model, to leave the road. It travelled about 20ft before striking the pole, and then came to rest about 17ft further on. The vehicle was completely wrecked the bodywork being torn off. A man living nearby ' heard the crash, and rushed to the passengers' assistance. He helped them from the car. Miss Horrox, who did not bear any marks of injury, stated that she was all right, and the man went for medical assistance. When he returned Miss Horrox was in a dying state, and exoired shortly afterward. It is believed that her head struck the windscreen with considerable force, causing her to suffer concussion, the effects of which were not immediately apparent.