WOOLBUYER’S DEATH

Press, Volume XCVIII, Issue 28823, 18 February 1959, Page 16

WOOLBUYER’S DEATH

Inquest Concluded In Timaru

(From Our Own Reporter) TIMARU, February 17.

“This tragedy again emphasises the need for more care by motorists, specially when driving under conditions that are not ideal.” said the Timaru Coroner (Mr £ M. Jenkins) when he found that Walter Lascelles Hill, aged 28, a woolbuyer, married, with three children, of 74A Clyde road. Christchurch, died on September 27, 1958, from shock due to bilateral pneumothorax and hemorrhage following multiple fractures to tl)e ribs. i Evidence was given by ,Dr. Robert Charles Taylor, the pathologist at the Timaru Public Hospital, who said that on September 29 he made a post-mortem examination.

A copy of . the Government Analyst’s report was produced. The Coroner said he would add to the evidence that the quantity of alcohol as disclosed by the report would impair the efficiency of driving, but would not render Hill incapable of driving a motor-car.

Hill died near Lake Tekapo while being taken to Timaru in an ambulance. The car he was driving failed to negotiate a bridge on the highway near the Hermitage. The Coroner said that the evidence of a number of witnesses had been taken in Christchurch. “One witness said it was a windy, gusty night and that the roads were thick with dust. Another— Hill’s wife—said that towards midnight there was a strong wind. There was no direct evidence as to how the accident occurred, but it would appear that Hill's visibility was impaired and an error of judgment resulted in the car failing to negotiate the bridge," the Coroner said. Death By Drowning An inquest was also concluded into the death, of Edward Harris, aged 57, single, formerly of 269 Kilmore street, Christchurch. The Coroner returned a verdict that Harris died on December 21, 1958, from asphyxia from drowning in the Timaru harbour. •'There is no evidence as to how he came to be in the harbour," the Coroner said; Evidence was given by Dr: Taylor, and by Constable G. N. Gear, who said that on December 21 he went to the waterfront and found a body floating in the harbour 12 feet from No. 3 wharf. He recovered the body, which was fully clothed. There was no evidence of violence. Evidence was also given by Eric Bayliss, a fisherman. Sergeant J. W. Thompson represented the Police at the inquest.