VERDICT OF GUILTY

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25178, 8 May 1947, Page 3

VERDICT OF GUILTY

fatal negligence CHARGE

STRONG RECOMMENDATION TO MERCY

A verdict of guilty, with a strong re«,mmendatiGn to mercy, was returned in ♦he Supreme Court yesterday against Harvey Francis Page, an engineer, aged S (Dr. A. L Haslam), who was charged £ith negligent driving causing death. Mr a W. Brown prosecuted for the Crown, fnd the case was heard before Mr Justice Flemnig. When the hearing was resumed yesterday evidence was given by John Patrick cuttance, a police constable, who said he had gone to the scene of the accident TT December 10, in company with Constable A. V. Brown and Sergeant J. B. Kearton. The hedge on the western side rf the intersection of Burnside road and Graham’s road, where the accident oc<urred, was a broken one, and was about five feet in height. Witness had sat in a car about 60 feet from the intersection, in a position which would be similar to that of accused before the accident. He had seen a small grey car go past, and he had seen it for about 200 yards along Graham’s road on the side from which Mrs pawsey had approached the intersection. His view of the car had been uninterrupted. John Bainbridge Kearton, official police photographer, produced photograps taken it the scene of the accident. Charles James Bax, supervisor of the Christchurch City Council’s vehicle testing station, said he had examined both involved in the accident. The braking and steering on both were in good ord er.' In reply to a question by Dr. Haslain the witness said that when a car approaching the observer, speeds ~,ujd only be assessed as low, medium, or high. They could not be put into Brown, the witness agreed that if a witness said she saw a car travelling at 50 or 60 miles an hour, that could be interpreted as a high speed. John James Highsted, a police constable, said that he had interviewed the accused, who had made a statement in which he said he had been travelling at 30 miles an hour on the corrrect side of the road. As he approached the intersection he had slackened speed and looked to the right, but had seen nothing. His attention had then been attracted by something on his left, which he later found to be a man working in a field. Just after that the collision occurred. The coolur of the car with which he had collided was a dark green, the same colour as the hedge. He had driven for 20 ;ft’ears, and it was his first accident.’ The f collision had occurred because he had ' not seen the other car. i In his address to the jury, Dr. Haslam Bthat there were no unpleasant asto the case such as drink, or hit run, and the unfortunate conse»s of the accident were not under te. The corner was a rather dere one, being neither blind nor open. Crown had suggested that accused

u been negligent in three ways. He ihad not given way to the right; but that 1 was something altogether different from klhe charge he was facing. If persons Mid not comply with the rule of the right, attey could be charged on that count, and ’accused’s failure to give way did not • come inte the picture. The Crown had Suggested that accused had approached

corner at an excessive speed,' but the period Mrs Pawsey had to estimate the speed was just the fragment of a moiment, and evidence had been given that 'it was not possible to estimate approaching speeds accurately. The Crown had also alleged that accused should have kept a better look-out. However, Mrs Pawsey’s car and the live hedge were both deep green, and the height of the hedge had to be considered. The police constables had seen the grey car, but they had known it was there because it had first passed directly across their track. Summing up, his Honour said that the jury would have to decide whether accused had allowed his attention to slip. If accused’s glance to the left had been a quick one, it was a very proper glance. The question was whether accused had not looked too long to the left. The one outstanding point which had to be considered above all others was how accused had failed to see the other car until after he had hit it. The jury retired at midday, and returned with its verdict at 12.35 p.m. Accused was remanded for sentence, bail being allowed.