Two men die in rugby matches

Press, 15 July 1978, Page 19

Two men die in rugby matches

Iwo young men died oi j spinal injuries caused in I separate games of rugby, the (Christchurch Coroner (Mr N. G. Hattaway) found a: a : hearing of inquests yesterday. One of the men also suffered brain damage. They were Philip John .Smith, aged 19. a student at I the University of Canterbury, who died on March 11. i and Philip Grant Cowie, aged 24. a Tarras farmer. I who died on April 24. ; A universty student (Mr R. 1. Hattaway), who opi posed Mr Smith in a scrum, said in evidence that the scrum went down in the normal manner. Smith was loose-head prop. The witness said that the game had been hard but clean, as “we were all mates.” He had not seen Mr ■Smith bumped or tackled. > Sir Ronald Scott, a univer- ! sity rugby coach, said that ,he was standing 4m from (the scrum and saw that Mr i Smith was not binding pro- ■ perly with his left arm. He ! could not see what Mr (Smith was doing with his (left arm. l When the scrum rose, Mr : Smith was lying curled up . (on the ground, his face was ! I forward, and his pupils were ! grossly enlarged. He was | breathing, but began turning ( blue. Sir Ronald said that be-i fore the game Mr Smith ap-( peared in good spirits and' looked physically fit. The other player, Mr( Cowie, had been playing in i a game against Upper Clutha at Alexandra, the captain of the Alexandra team (Mr M. Ashton) said in evidence.

After about five minutes of play Mr Cowie took the ball from a line-out, turned his back on the opposing forwards, and crouched down. There was a driving maul, and he heard an “agonised yell” as it collapsed on the

ground, Mr Ashton said. The players realised someone was injured, and got up carefully. “Mr Cowie said several times, ‘don't move me,’ and said that he could not feel his legs. He was lying curled up on' his side. The St John Ambulance was called, and Mr Cowie was laid out on a trestle top. “At no time was there any foul or rough play,” Mr Ashton said. The referee (Mr R. H. Haigh) confirmed this. A Christchurch woman died after petrol she had been using as household cleaner exploded, the court Was told.

The Coroner found that Christine Frances Kearney, aged 49, died on May 15 from bronchopneumonia and uraemia associated with 37 per cent burns. Her son, Anthony Thomas Kearney, aged 21, said in evidence that he heard his mother call, and ran into find her standing in the room which was on fire. He wrapped her in a blanket, and put the fire out with the garden hose. “She told me she was cleaning the sunroom walls and ledges with petrol, and it had exploded.” His mother was a moderate smoker, but he had not seen any cigarettes around, he said. A man found dead on al couch in a Sumner house | had attended a drug party | the previous night, the court: was told. The coroner found that j Peter Raponi, aged 23, died! on April 23 from barbiturate ’ poisoning after consuming a ■ quantity of drugs. Nicola Marie Collins, who attended the party on April 22 at the house at which the deceased was found, said that Mr Raponi had consumed a quantity of pills. Detective Constable W. Schwass said that he found Mr Raponi dead on the couch. Raponi had taken more barbiturates than others at the party. He had recently been released from prison, and had been “actively” taking drugs. A man and a woman died of barbiturate and Doloxene poisoning, the Coroner found. Mary Ellen Ramsay, aged 23 and Jeffrey Robert Stewart, aged 26, were found! dead on a bed in a Christchurch house on April 3, said Constable S. R. Wakefield. In a rubbish bag were dis- ■ carded bottles and packets which had contained prer ription drugs. Stewart was a known drug addict, and Miss Ramsay was receiving treatment for drug abuse, Constable Wakefield said. A 14-year-old boy had! been “mucking around” with; a bag hanging from the handlebars of his bicycle before he was involved in an accident which caused his' death, the court was told. The Coroner found that Noel Gordon McCann died on March 11 from injuries suffered in an accident. The driver of the car which collided with the boy (Mr M. D. Graham) testified that the boy was riding aimlessly, and it seemed the bag was getting stuck in the fro;' wheel of the bicycle. Wanting to steer clear of the boy, he checked his rear vision mirror to changej lanes. The next thing he j heard was a bang, and the 1 boy went over the bonnet of his car. Constable R. H. Moore! said that he thought the boy l was the main cause of the accident. They cycle was in poor condition, and a bag swinging from insecure handlebars into the front! wheel of the cycle made it difficult to steer a straight i course for any length of] time.

’J Gillian Mary Leadley. age 17, a student at Lincoln Co lege, died from multiple in juries caused when she fe from a fire escape on th roof of the Burns Wing a ; Lincoln College on April S the Coroner found. A student at the colleg (Mr D. A. Massey) testifiei he was on the balcony witl Miss Leadley. talking to he and looking at the view jWhen she went to sit on th iro' railing. “She was straddling t when I told her to get bad I in case she fell. Miss Lead ; ley said she was not scaret of heights, and put her othe I leg over the ledge. “In attempting to swinj (her leg back, her sandle. be (came caught in the railings i and she toppled over th, Isid “ said Mr Massey. Mr Massey said h< j railings by the T shin.ant tradings by the T shirt, ant t' er by the head. Sh< ; reached up and he took holt (of her wrists. He could no: remember how long he heli ■ her like this through the railings, but she was heavj and slipped through hit grasp. The Coroner found thai three people killed in a boatHng accident at the mouth ol i the Waimakariri River or April 2. died by drowning when they were swept from the boat by a wave. They were George Alfred Gibbs, aged 41. Sydnev David Gibbs, aged 39, and Tracv Joanne Wright, aged 9. M- P. A. Wright, the dead girl's father, told the court that the wave that swept the three overboard was about 6m high. The boat was about 4.27 m.