Shunter rejects his workmate’s evidence

Press, 11 August 1980, Page 10

Shunter rejects his workmate’s evidence

PA Wellington The senior shunter on a locomotive which crashed into a passenger unit killing two men on Friday denied telling a workmate that the locomotive had received a signal to proceed on to the same line as the unit.

Earlier on Friday the District Court at Wellington had been told that the head shunter had said he had seen a signal light giving the go-ahead to the locomotive.

The locomotive’s driver, Kevin Charles Smith, aged 25, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of manslaughter in that failing to stop at a red signal light he caused the death of Charles Louis Henri Costhoudevree and Ernest Bennett Goodwin. The hearing is before

Judge Bate. Mr J- Bowie appears for the prosecution and Mr D. J- Dalgety for Smith. ’ ■ A locomotive assistant, Hingawaka Potae, told the Court during -the taking ot depositions that he had been on the locomotive when it collided with a Porirua unit on March 24, killing two men and injuring 56 people. Mr Potae said the senior shunter told him they had received a signal to proceed on the line being used by the south-bound unit.

He alleged that the shun? ter, Alexander George, said this immediately after the crash in the Wellington railway yards. Giving evidence later m the morning, Mr George denied speaking to Mr Potae. He also said he did not remember speaking to the unit’s driver, .Mr Luke Radich, as Mr Radich had testified during Thursday’s hearing. Mr Potae said he was seated at the front of the locomotive driven by Smith as it pulled the Masterton unit north out of platform 9 just before 7.45 a.m. on March 24.

His job was to call out signals on his side of the track, which Smith could not see from his seat, he said. As a check both men had to repeat the signals called to them by the other. As the locomotive ap-

proached the signal cited m the charge, signal 99, Mr Potae said, Smith called out that it was a low-speed signal. This meant the locomotive could proceed but slowly because the line might not be clear. ■ The next thing he knew was that Smith, had applied the emergency brakes and the locomotive and unit collided. . Soon after the impact, Mr Potae said, he spoke to Mr George and the. shunter ' on the locomotive. Both men told him the locomotive had received a signal to proceed at signal 99. The shunters were at the back of the carriage train being moved by the locomotive. When Mr George gave his evidence, after Mr Potae, he said he did not remember speaking to Mr Potae immediately after the accident. He did not remember seeing signal 99 from the carriage train before the accident Mr George said. he had been knocked out at the time of impact and only recalled being carried to a nearby signal box. Under cross-examination by Mr Dalgety, Mr George said the concussion he suffered might have driven any recollection of the conversations from his memory. The second shunter on the locomotive will give evidence when the hearing resumes.