Five injured in accident

Press, Volume CXII, Issue 33094, 8 December 1972, Page 14

Five injured in accident

Five persons were injured, one of them seriously, when two cars collided head-on in Stanmore Road, about 10.50 last evening

Four of the injured were admitted to Christchurch Hospital and the other to Burwood Hospital. A St John Ambulance took two of the injured to hospital and the other three were taken by private transport. The seriously injured man underwent surgery for neck and chest injuries in Christchurch Hospital early this morning.

He is Bruce Ralph Nicol, aged 20, of 34 Armagh Street. The other persons injured are Ross Gordon-Smith, of 75 Carisbrook Street, the driver of the car in which Mr Nicol was travelling; John Charles Campbell, aged 19, of 35 Wilton Street, the driver of the other car; Michael William Evans, aged 18, of 11 Esk Place, and Bruce Alister Van Niewkirk, aged 20, of 158 Cranford Street. No condition of the injured men was available early this morning. The accident occurred about 100 yards on the city side of the Stanmore RoadAvonside Drive intersection. A section of Stanmore Road was blocked off for about half an hour. Several traffic officers assisted the police at the scene of the accident, which drew a large crowd. At one stage, one of the injured was unaccounted for and the emergency fire tender was called to provide lighting to assist in the search for the injured man. Firemen and police searched the nearby Beverley Park. An ambulance stood by. After about 40 minutes confirmation was received from the hospital that the man had been found earlier in a distressed state and taken to hospital by car. The cars involved in the accident are shown at right.