Coroner’s Court TWO KILLED WHEN CAR AND RAIL-CAR COLLIDED

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30364, 13 February 1964, Page 14

Coroner’s Court TWO KILLED WHEN CAR AND RAIL-CAR COLLIDED

Two persons who were killed' when their car was struck by a south-bound railcar at Weedons on November 9, were found by the Christchurch Coroner (Mr A. T. Bell), at an inquest in the Coroner’s Court yesterday, to ' have died from shock and hemorrhages from multiple severe internal injuries suf-, fered in the collision. They were Diana Louise Duncan, aged 21,. and- John Henry Butterick, aged 26. Norman Hornsby Lawson, driver of the rail-car, said the unit left Christchurch for Dunedin at 5.35 p.m. Two hundred . yards from the Weedons level crossing he sounded the warning device, and'then saw a car approaching the crossing. It appeared it was not going tb stop, and he applied the emergency brakes near the. crossing, sounded the warning device again, and applied sand to the rails. There was a heavy impact as the car and railcar collided. Rosemary Dawn Douglas, a student nurse, who was a passenger on the rail-car, said she saw the car travelling about 50 miles’ an hour shortly before 'the collision. It did not slacken speed. After the impact she saw the car being flung aside. Constable ,K. R. McLeod said the ear was thrown about 40ft. Inquiries showed that Duncan was driving the car at the time. • MOTOR-CYCLIST KILT -ED The Coroner found tnat Vernon Royce William Williams, aged 25. died on November 16 on Main road Redcliffs, the cause of death being shock from multiple injuries suffered when the motor-cycle, he was riding got out of control and struck the rear of a truck which was correctly parked. Thomas William Brown, a glass founder, • said that at 6.20 pm. a motor-cyclist passed him at 40 to 42 miles an hour. The machine was close to the middle white line On approaching a bend the rider - leaned the machine right over and swerved to the left. . He did not appear to decrease speed as he rounded the corner. .

Thomas . John William Julian, a gardener, said he was driving towards the city from Sumner. Just before he

reached Wakaitu avenue a motor-cyclist passed him on the tight, it wag his opinion that the speed of the machine combined with the camber of the road caused the accident. He had the' impression that the footrest struck the ground. Redmond Eric Seque, a milk, vendor, said ’ the truck was properly parked and was in first gear with the handbrake on. It was moved about 3ft by the impact. Constable G. A. CleWer said the footrest of the motorcycle gouged the road: Denis James Hogan, a senior scientific officer of the Dominion Laboratory, said that Specimens from the body of Williams showed that he had consumed so much alcohol that he should not have been driving. DROWNED EN FORD

Aftqr rounding up his cows for milking at his farm at Annat about 5 ajn.’ on December 13, Everard . Henry Pierce was. driving them over a ford across a creek on his property when he either slipped or had a black-out and drowned in about . 10 inches of water, according to evidence. The Coroner found that Pierce drowned ,on his farm. Claude William Beleher, a rabbit board employee, said that at 2 pm. on December 13 he drove on to Pierce’s farm to lay poison. He found Pierce lying in shallow waiter in the ford. He was wearing knee gumboots. The body was cold and stiff and it . was apparent that. Pierce had been dead for some hours. It appeared that Pierce had fallen backwards • into the stream. The bottom was covered with slimy stones, which would make walking in gumboots very difficult.

Constable J. P. Lattner, of Darfleld, said that Pierce lived alone at the homestead He was last seen alive on December 12. Some 12 months before he had complained of having a black-out while rounding up the cows. STRUCK BY CAR

The Coroner found that James Macaulay died on the Main North road at Belfast O-. July 17. the cause of death being fractures of the skull and hemorrhages and contusions of the brain, suffered when he , was struck by a car driven by Raymond Arthur Phelps Hopkins.