Mr Couch at scene of fatal accident

Press, 15 May 1981, Page 2

Mr Couch at scene of fatal accident

>PA Wellington •Z The Minister of Maori Af'fairs (Mr Couch) and a young •§outh African doctor, who 'was a passenger in his car, •Were among the first on the scene of a fatal car crash on ; Wednesday night at Kaitoke. “It was a pretty bad ; sight,” Mr Couch said yester■day. “The car had gone sideways into a pole, almost itself in half.” ■Z The Minister said the ;South African, Dr Leon. Gold.stein, whom he had met for 'lhe first time at Wednesday’s irugby match at Masterton -between Wellington and Wairarapa Bush, had done a tremendous job. “A friend had asked if I would give the chap a ride,

i back to Wellington. He did everything possible for all the injured, but particularly the one who was most seriously hurt, and went with them in the ambulance to hospital.” However, the most seriously injured of the four men died in hospital. He was Allan McLean, of Te Anau Road, Hataitai, a law student who died later in V Hutt Hospital. The others, Christopher Wilson of Ngaio, and Peter Hall, Hataitai, both police- ; men, and Guy Lawton, of 1 Plimmerton, a law student, 1 were admitted to Hutt Hospi--1 tai. Their condition yesterday was reported to be fairly satisfactory. The Greymouth reporter of

“The Press” said that the name of the second man who died when the car in which he was travelling plungeddown a bank between Otira and Arthur’s Pass on Tuesday night was released yesterday. He was Douglas William Sowman, aged 37, a railwayman, of Soldiers Road, Reefton.

The other man who died was John Karako Rayner, aged 49, of Davies Street, Reefton, also a railway employee, and formerly of Kaikoura.

The car was found at the bottom of an 11-metre bank on Wednesday morning by two men heading for a search and rescue effort operation at Arthur’s Pass.