Supreme Court Youth Found Guilty Of Fatal Negligence

Press, Volume C, Issue 29679, 24 November 1961, Page 9

Supreme Court Youth Found Guilty Of Fatal Negligence

A youth whose car struck a power pole in Rockinghorse road, South Brighton, late on the evening of May 27, fatally injuring a passenger in the back seat, was found guilty by a jury in the Supreme Court yesterday on a charge of negligent driving causing the passenger’s death.

The accused, David Stewart Holland, aged 18, a workman, pleaded not guilty to a charge of negligent driving causing the death at Ronald Wilfred Rhind, aged 15. Mr Justice Macarthur remanded the accused in custody to this afternoon for sentence.

The jury took one hour to reach its verdict The accused was represented by Mr A. D. Holland. Mr C. M. Roper appeared for the Crown.

Outlining the Crown’s case Mr Roper said the accused, with other young persons, had been to a party in Rockmgborse road, and was driving north towards the city about 11.30 p.m. He had four passengers in his car.

The accused’s car struck a power pole at a slight bend in the road, and Rhind, one of the passengers in the back, suffered severe head injuries from which he died in the Christchurch Hospital next day. James William Harvey, aged 17, a labourer, said there were about 15 to 20 young persons at the party. There was four and a half gallons of beer, and he thought the accused had had two beers during the evening.

George Edwacd Palmer, senior vehicle inspector of the Transport Department, said the accused’s car appeared to be in reasonable order and roadworthy. Cross-examined by Mr Holland, Palmer agreed that the model of car was known for its weak headlights. Constable J. J. Coleman gave evidence of skid marks made by the accused’s car. He said street lighting in the area was bad.

Constable G. F. Davidson said the accused, when seen in the casualty department of Christchurch Hospital shortly after the accident, said he and others in the car were lighting cigarettes, and that was all he remembered until his car struck the pole. In a statement which he made later to the police the accused said he was driving north along Rockinghorse road at a little more than 30 miles an hour. The first warning he received, he said, was seeing the pole directly ahead of the car. He turned to the right to avoid the pole but the rear of the car skidded to the left and struck the pole. The accused’s statement said he had two or three beers at the party. He was not affected by liquor when the accident occurred. Defence Case Mr Holland, in his submissions, said the real issue was what caused the accused to get into the skid which resulted in the impact. The jury should take out of its mind, in considering the question of negligence, what happened after the car got into the skid. Mr Holland said there was no allegation of speed on the accused’s part. He was travelling along what he thought was a straight piece of road, without any major cross-roads. The power pole which he struck was closer to the edge of the bitumen than the two poles before it. That factor could easily cause an error of judgment, but such an error was not negligence. “At this spot the pole was right alongside the bitumen.” Mr Holland said. He said there was no white paint or other distinguishing mark on the pole. Evidence showed that the street was poorly lit, and it was a dark night. Mr Holland submitted that the accused's actions when he was suddenly confronted by the pole at the last moment did not constitute negligence.