Five Die, Several Hurt In Week-end Accidents

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29193, 2 May 1960, Page 10

Five Die, Several Hurt In Week-end Accidents

Five persons died and several others were injured In accidents in New Zealand at the week-end. Three fatal accidents occurred on the roads, and a man was killed by a tractor on a Northland farm. A Rugby player in Rotorua collapsed and died after he was tackled, say New Zealand Press Association reports. The driver of a car which plunged into the Auckland harbour from the Birkenhead ferry wharf last night is presumed to have drowned. At midnight the police were still waiting for a floating crane to lift the car which was upside down on the harbour bed. It is thought the driver was the only occupant Crushed By Tractor A man was killed when he was crushed under a tractor at Wayby, near Wellsford, on Saturday morning. He was:

Charles Lawrence Cooke, aged 25. a farm hand, married, with two children. Mr Cooke and a companion were topdressing a paddock. The tractor overturned on a steep face, crushing Mr Cooke. His companion on the trailer was thrown clear. Fatal Collision A man was killed and another critically injured when a truck collided with a car in Whakatane shortly after 3.20 p.m. on Saturday. The man killed was: Edward Wehepa Stewart, aged 20, a crusher operator, married, of Wainui.

The truck was overtaking a car when it collided with an oncoming car driven by Mrs Kathleen June Kane, of Edgecumbe. Mrs Kane received injuries to a leg and was treated for shock.

With Mr Stewart in the truck were two companions. Winiata Williams, aged 19, of Wainui, who was taken to Whakatane Hospital in a critical condition, and Jack O’Reilly, aged 21, of Whakatane, who received minor injuries. Failed To Take Bend A young man was killed Instantly when his car crashed over a U-bend in Mortimer terrace, Brooklyn, Wellington, shortly after 11 p.m. on Saturday. He was:

Brian Cyril Matthews, aged 19. of Yule street, Kilbirnie. He was the sole occupant of the car.

The vehicle left the road at a bend and landed on a lower slope of the terrace, 30 feet below. It was extensively damaged. Half-Back Collapsed A Rugby player collapsed and died during a friendly match at Rotorua yesterday. He was: Jackie Davies, aged 23, single, of Rotorua. Playing half-back, he was tackled in possession after a lineout and collapsed. He was dead on arrival at Rotorua Hospital. An inquest was opened before Mr IL E. Davies, J.P„ and adjourned sine die.

One Killed, One Hurt An English nursing sister was killed and her companion, another nurse, severely injured in a collision between two cars at the intersection of Whitaker and Ballance streets, Gisborne, at 10.30 p.m. on Saturday. The dead woman was: Barbara Willoughby, aged 25 single, of Cook Hospital. Her parents live in Hampshire. The injured nurse is Sister Adele Mary Athy, aged 27, of Cook Hospital. Sister Willoughby, who was a passenger in the car driven by Sister Athy, died within a few minutes of the collision with the other car. Sister Willoughby joined the Cook Hospital staff about a year ago and at the time of the accident she and Sister Athy, both of whom were theatre sisters, were going to the hospital on call. Badly Injured

When the truck he was driving crashed into a power pole in Ormond road, Gisborne, about 2.30 a.m. yesterday, Kennedy Lawson Michael Candy, aged 37, married, salesman, of Argyle street, Gisborne, suffered severe head injuries. His condition is serious. Seven Injured Seven persons are in Waikato Hospital as the result of a collision between two cars near the Kinleith turnoff on the Tokoroa- ’ Taupo main highway on Saturday evening. Six of the injured were in one car, the other being the driver of the second vehicle.

A month-old baby boy travelling with his family in the first car was the only one to escape injury. The injured are: William Morrow Hawthorne, farmer, of Tokoroa, the driver and sole occupant of his car (condition serious); Valentine Henry, aged 24, paper maker, of Tokoroa, his wife Kate Henry, aged 21, his daughter, Janet Henry, aged two, Rudolph Hurst, bushman, of Tokoroa, his wife Cora Nurst and his daughter Brenda Nurst, aged 10.