CORONER’S COURT Inquest Into Death At Sub-station

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31841, 20 November 1968, Page 6

CORONER’S COURT Inquest Into Death At Sub-station

Members of the New Zea-, land Electricity Department staff were unable in the Coroner’s Court yesterday to give any reason why a young manj was in the position he was' in the Southbrook sub-station when he received a massive electrical shock and fell 30ft on to concrete on his head. The Coroner (Mr A. T.| Bell) found that Jeffrey Murray Heard, aged 21, died on August 30 at the Southbrook sub-station, the cause of death being electric shock, suffered when he came into contact with an air-break switch carrying 66,000 volts. lan Donald Hall Billbrough, a draughting cadet, said that at 11.24 a.m. on August 30 he was working in a superstructure at the substation. He spoke to .Mr Heard who was on the ground. He did not see or hear Mr Heard climb the superstructure. A few minutes later he 'heard a bang and saw a body: hit tlie ground. He was told to stay inside the superstructure, I as it was not known whether) lit was alive. To Mr C. R Harman, who appeared for Mr Heard s relatives, Mr Billbrough said he remem .bered dronping a tool on the ;ground, but he had not asked Mr Heard to pick it up. Gerald Arthur Daly, a lechInician, said that Mr Heard had I only six months to go to finish ihis apprenticeship. He was Mr Heard's immediate sunerior. He considered him reasonably experienced. and Mr Heard knew where he should and should not igo in the sub-station. Some time after Mr Heard left to check a motor cycle battery which was being charged in the I workshop he heard an alarm i bell ringing. He vaguely remembered hearing an explosion al l the same time. The witness said he knew of: .no reason why Mr Heard should I have gone into the structure I area. Eric William Smith, an electrical titter, said he was in i charge of the gang working in I the enclosure, which was electrified. To the Coroner, he said , the switch with which Mr Heard I came into contact was open,: which meant that there was cur- 1 rent on one side of the switch. I James Matthew Kirner, an' ; electrical fitter, said that Mr Heard s work would not require; him to be up on the structure. "There was a flash and l' looked tin and saw a flash between Heard and the top of the; insulator." the witness said. Mr Heard received the full force i of the 66,000-volt line. The witness said that the in-1 sulator was dismantled because; of the damage to the porcelain. The imprints of Mr Heard’s hands were clearly visible on the top. This indicated that he had either overbalanced or that he thought the line was dead and had accidentally put his hands on to it for suDDort. Joseph Francis Geoghegan, an engineer, said he investigated i the accident. It seemed that Mr Heard misinterpreted the slate of the equipment and. for a reason which was not known, climbed the latticed steel tower. The air-break switch was open and he attempted to walk between its contacts, one of which was alive at a potential of 38.000 volts above the earth. He would; have received a massive elec-! trlcal shock. An attempt had been made to I determine what had misled Mr; Heard into believing it was I safe. One side of the incoming! . line of the air-break switch was] earthed and Mr Hoard could j Jiave seen this from the ground if he had checked. This, how-: ‘ever, would not mean that the; other side was safe. Mr Heard knew that Mr Bill-j brough was working aloft but I he might have had only an approximate idea of his position.

, He could have overlooked the " distinction between his safe j I position inside the girder and a possible working position above. As a result of this he | could have assumed that the ; air-break switch was safe, Mr!' Geoghegan said. To Mr Harman. Mr Geoghegan! said that Mr Heard was not imipeluous and it was out of char- ' actcr for him to have gone up I on the tower. i To Mr N. W. Williamson, who appeared for the department Mr Geoghegan said that Mr Heard had been given safety i instruction from the time he; 'joined the department. CAR COLLISION The Coroner found that Douglas Alexander McDonald, aged 44. a bank officer, died on September 22 in an ambulance) going to the Christchurch Hospital, the cause of death being I multiple internal injuries suf- 1 fered when the car he was driving turned across the path of a car driven by Reginald; Ronald James Storer, and that Pamela Rosemary McDonald, his wife, aged 43, died on Scptem-I ber 22 near the intersection of Memorial Avenue antf Kendal Avenue on September 22, the (cause of death being multiple , injuries. Evidence was given that the small car in which Mr and Mrs McDonald were travelling caught fire after the accident. MOTOR-CYCLIST KILLED John Moore Kelly, aged 24, was found to have died on Sep lumber 7 at Kainga Road the cause of death being multiple .injuries suffered when the motor-cycle he was riding became out of control on a bend and collided with a car driven by Keith John Ruddle. Mr Ruddle, a manager, said that about 4.30 p.m. on September 7 he was driving suoth-west ; in Kainga Road at a speed of j about 25 miles an hour. As he | approached a bend he saw a 'motor-cycle coming towards him iat about 50 miles an hour. It was on its correct side as it entered the bend but the muffler hit the ground. The 'motor-cycle, out of control. ■ swerved across the road and .hit the front of his car. which ‘had almost stopped. He found two young men lying on the ! ground. He was unable to say who had been riding the motorcycle and who had been the ‘pillion passenger. | Moa Edwards, a driver, said I that about 2.45 p.m. he went io the Racecourse Hotel, where, j he met Mr Kelly. They had four or five beers and then went! !to the Belfast Hotel. While at > the Chaneys Service Staion, Mr; Kelly was spoken to by a traffic; !officer about the speed at which j he had been riding the motor-1 icycle. White going to Kainga,; Mr Kelly had travelled about! Ho miles an hour and had over- , taken vehicles in the face of. oncoming traffic. Norman Patrick Alcorn, a, Government analvst, said that; Mr Kelly s blood ’had 215 milli-; grams of alcohol per 100 milli-{ litres of blood. Dr Leonard Lawrence Treadgold. who conducted the postmortem examination, agreed with the Coroner that Mr Kelly had been entirely incapable of controlling the motor-cycle at the speed at which he had been travelling because of the alcohol he had consumed. STRUCK BY CAR Graeme Wayne McGorrey, aged 19. a soldier, was found to have died in the Christchurch Hospital on September !22, the cause of death being; j broncho pneumonia after! multiple injuries suffered when i he was struck by a car driven i by Weldon Richard Smith, of (Timaru. while he was walking (along the Main South Road, j Kevin Geoffrey Coleman, a ; soldier, said that he, Mr McGorirey and other soldiers left the ; Dunsandcl Hotel at closing time | on September 7. They walked (north on the Main South Road. About half a mile from the hotel. Mr McGorrey walked along the middle of the road.

They called out to him to come back to the side of the road. Mr McGorrey was almost hit by I a motorist who had to swerve to avoid him. For a time Mr McGorrey; walked on the side of the road but went out into the middle i again. A car tried to avoid him. but he ran into its path.' The witness said he did not; know whether Mr McGorrey was playing chicken with the motorists. Mr McGorrey was not drunk, but was merry. The motorist who struck him made every effort to avoid him. There was no doubt that, the, boy was playing the fool on the road, the Coroner said. BOY HIT BY CAR Mark Anton Ellen, aged six. was found to have died on September 17 on the Main North, Road at Northcote. the cause jof death being multiple internal injuries suffered when he ran across the road and was struck by a car driven by Desmond Durham Sheriff. j Mr Sheriff, a car cleaner, said , that about 4.30 p.m. on September 17 he was driving along the Mam .North Road at a speed about 30 miles an hour. Just 1 , after he passed Tuckers Road he became aware of a child on the left mudguard. Hp did not know where the child had come from.

DIED FROM BURNS Winifred Mason, aged 77. wa found Io have died at the Buwood Hospital on October . • the cause of death bcm broncho pneumonia and toy emia attributable to burns suf ’ (fered when her clothing caugh . alight from an electric healer at her home on September 4. SUICIDE VERDICTS Clutha Emmeline Sarjcant aged 64. was found to have diet on September 16 at 97 Colomb< Street, having committee • jsuicide, the cause of death hemj barbiturate and carbon mon oxide poisoning. ■ Joy Clare Dagger, aged 59 * I was found to have died on Sep • tember 25 in the sea at Sumner , having committed suicide. th< cause of death being drowning •