FENDALTON ROAD ACCIDENT

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26523, 11 September 1951, Page 8

FENDALTON ROAD ACCIDENT

Deaths Of Three Men At Crossing

CAR DRIVER TO STAND TRIAL

After the case for the prosecution i had been presented in the Magistrate's i Court yesterday. Carl Francis Wakefield Schroder, aged 40. a hotel licensee, i of Hokitika, pleaded not guilty to a 1 charge that on July 9 he negligently drove a motor-car on Fendalton road ] thereby causing the deaths of Maurice i Barrie James, Lionel Oswald Howat 1 and Charles George McKechnie. Mr Raymond Ferner, S.M., com- i mitted Schroder to the Supreme Court ; for trial, and allowed him bail in his 1 own recognisance of £5O and one surety of £5O. Senior-Sergeant J. C. Fletcher I prosecuted, and Mr D. W. Russell . appeared for Schroder. I In conjunction with the hearing of < the charge, inquests were held into 1 the deaths of James, aged 49, a solici- i tor. of Hokitika. Howat. aged 29. a I company secretary, of Hokitika, and McKechnie. aged 66. a retired hotel- i keeper, of Greymouth. i Mr A. W. Brown appeared for the New Zealand Railways Department, i Mr R. P. Thompson for the estate of < Maurice James, and Mr E. B. E. Taylor i for the estate of Charles McKechnie. i Mr Ferner, as Coroner, returned ver- 1 diets that McKechnie died on July 9 < at the Fendalton road railway cross- < ing. the cause of death being shock 1 due to crushing injuries of the chest I received when the car_ driven by ’ Schroder came into collision with the s Picton-Christchurch express about 6 c pun. < Similar verdicts were returned in t the inquests into the death of James, except that death was due to a fracture of the base of the skull; and the p inquest into the death of Howat ex- j cept that death was caused by a frac- t ture of the skull associated with a c penetrating wound in the skull. I Case For Prosecation r Senior-Sergeant Fletcher said the j case was the result of a ghastly acci- j dent on the Fendalton road railway j crossing about 6 pun. on July 9. t Schroder had been playing golf at the t Russley Club links with other licensed s victuallers, and shortly before 6 p.m. f left to come to Christchurch with the f three others in his car. Just cm 6 pun. t it came against the lights at the rail- c way crossing and the bells for the , Picton-Christchurch express. The t engine struck the car amidships, the three men being killed almost instan- f taneously and Schroder being very ( seriously injured. It was a miracle how t anyone could come out of the car alive, j so badly smashed was it. There was c no suggestion of anyone in the car s having had liquor. Apparently the ( driver of the car failed to see the lights s and hear the bells at the crossing, so the prosecution claimed that he was 0 negligent as he was bound by law to t keep a lookout for these signals. < Dr. D. R. Hay, a house surgeon at the Christchurch Public Hospital, said t that the bodies of James, Howat and £ McKechnie were brought to the hos- j ?ital by ambulance on the evening of ( uly 9. They obviously were dead be- £ fore they reached the hospital. Dr. C. T. B. Pearson, a pathologist , said that McKechnie had extensive s fractures of the ribs on the left side, j Death was due to shock associated t with erushing injuries to the chest , James died from a fracture of the j base of the skull, and Howat from a • fracture of the skull associated with a , penetrating wound of the skull. An j inference was made that McKechnie was struck on the left side by the , railway engine. < Engine Driver’s Evidence < William Lear Abrahams said he was < the driver of the express from Rangi- 1 ora to Christchurch on July 9. After 1 the train left Papanui station he was • standing up holding the whistle cord because there were so many crossings. 1 The train would be travelling at about > 40 miles an hour by the time it 1 reached the Fendalton road crossing. ' There was only about a chain or so 1 view of the crossing because of a macrocarpa hedge. The warning lights were visible. He had blown the engine whistle and a car came into view on ' his right He blew the whistle again and slapped on the brakes at the same time, for he realised the car would not get over. The car arrived dead square in front of the engine. The ■ driver of the car did not appear to see the train coming and there was no variation in the speed of the car. It was travelling fairly fast Then came the crash. The train was stopped in 150 to 200 yards. The car was thrown to the left of the train, about a chain from the crossing. "When we stopped, my mate said there seemed to be someone hanging on the front of the engine.” said Abrahams. “I ran round and found it was the side of the car. I ran back towards the crossing, met the guard, told him there had been a smash and asked him to summon assistance. I came across a man lying at the side of the line and he seemed to be dead. Further on I came to the car. I looked inside and saw two men lying in the back of thb car, one on top of the other. I pulled the larger man off. He was Schroder. The car was lying on its left side and the men were in the extreme rear left corner. I ran into a house but there was no telephone, so I dashed into the street There was nothing wrong with the lights of the engine.” James Stephen Tohill, an engine driver, said he was on the engine to learn the road. He was standing directly behind Abrahams before ana during the accident. The engine whistle was blown approaching the crossing and witness saw the lights of what appeared to be a car approaching the crossing. The driver blew the whistle again. The car came on at the same speed and was struck by the engine. George Nathaniel Morris, a factory manager, said he was stepping off the Fendalton bus about 200 yards from the crossing when a car passed at a moderate rate. As witness was crossing the road he heard the bells ringing and he saw the lights flashing at the crossing. When he was further across the road he heard a crash. He turned round but could see nothing *on the road so he went on home. He had heard the engine whistle blow three times. John Couling. the guard on the train, said he helped the engine driver extricate a man from the car. Another man came to help, so witness held his .lamp while the engine driver and the other man got a man out of the car. This man was alive. There was another man. apparently dead, in the car. There was no front seat left in the car. Witness found a man between the car and the railway crossing and another man beyond the car. Both appeared to be dead. Lights Inspected Frederick Hantom. a signals and electric lines inspector. Railways Department. said he was a passenger on the train. When he found there had been an accident he carried out an inspection. The Ugbts and bells at the crossing operated correctly. Constable G. Oden said he heard a crash while he was at his home in Garden road. He went to the railway crossing and found Schroder, badly injured, lying beside the car, which was 30 yards south of the crossing. He also saw McKechnie and James, and they appeared to be dead Inside the car he saw Howat,* who appeared to be dead. “When Schroder was being placed in the ambulance he asked me what had happened and I said a train had collected his car. He appeared not to understand, for he was in a shocked and dazed condition.” said witness. To Mr Russell. Constable Odell said he saw Schroder at the hospital at 8 pjn. that day. and Schroder volunteered the information that he was not driving the car. To Mr Thompson: Schroder was still hwffy shacked and dazed. He made no suggestion about who was driving the car and witness did not ask him. Joseph Alan Martin, an engineer’s aaMstant Railways Department, prodtM»d a Plan ot the crossing area. Constable H. White said the front Sat the ear was pushed back and ten. and he fhund tiie rear seat ditch at the back of the car. On rlO be saw Schroder at the hos-

Sital and asked him who was driving le car. Schroder said he was. He interviewed Schroder on July 19 in the presence of Mr Russell and Schroder made a statement. In this statement Schroder said he was ready to leave the golf course about 5.15 pan., and one of his passengers asked him to close the window on his side because it was cold. He did not remember having anv liquor after the game and he had none during the day. He did not remember driving his car away from the golf links. His mind was a blank from then on until after he woke up in hospital Constable White said an examination of the car indicated that all the windows were closed at the time of the accident. The mark of the central buffer bar of the train showed on the left front door of the car. To Mr Russell: His inquiries showed that no liquor had been taken by any ’ the four occupants of the car. and ' was convinced they were all sober the time of the accident Constable W. McD. Ramage, assistant police photographer, produced photographs taken at the scene of the accident and photographs showing the damage to the car.