TRAMWAY ACCIDENT.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 187, 2 May 1908, Page 6

TRAMWAY ACCIDENT.

♦ DEATH OF MR. T., L. JOLL. CORONER'S' INQUEST. . Mr; .T. Langdon Joll, of Okaiawa, Taranaki, . ••• who ..was - seriously., injured by a fall from a : tr.iincar on Easter Monday, died in tho Hospital yestorday moping. Dccoascd was of a - :v< well-known Taranaki family, being a son of tho . lato Mr.' Samuel Joll, of Waitara. Tho lata Mr. Joll was in his younger days prominent m Taranaki football, and was a member ; of it-ho team.which' met Stoddart's English 1 ~>- r team twonty:years ago. Ho was .one-of the ,'. leading , dairy: factory owners in tho district, andsorvedon'local. bodies, including tho Hawora County. Council (of which ho was chair-, man for a 1 short period); ■ Tho lato Mr. Joll was born and educated in New Plymouth. At tho timo of his death ho was ono of tho oxecutivo of-the National Dairy Association. ; 110 was about 49 years of ago," married, and has ono son. He resided •■atKaiawa, Taranaki, where*ho owned a dairy factory. \ TEE INQUEST. ' An inquest-into the circumstances surround->";;ing'the-accident,;anditho immediate cause.of - . death was hold at tho Hospital ;-beforo Dr. W. A.:M'Arthur, S.M., .yesterday•• afternoon.. ■ , : -Mr. O'Dea' watched tho case on behalf of the yi':- ■ City Council. .V-.'- . THE MEDICAL TESTIMONY. . a. Dr.' Henry gavo evidence. that. between .6 ; and 7 p.m. on: Monday, April 20, ho was i-.- summoned to tho Club Hotel to .attend to f| dcosased. ■ Joll, was lying on tho floor, un- t ; conscious, ":thero was a', -scalp: .wound;-.at. the. .i back of tho Head;* the . symptoms pointing to ; ;: a.fracture of thebase of tie!skull.,' .Joll was ,j removed to the' Hospital. ■'Witness,,in con- ~ -saltation with Dr.. Collins, and Dr., Ewart,. last saw dccoascd nbout 9.30 p.m. on'.Thurs- , . day. . During the timo, deceased was.: in .tho j ■: Hospital, ho showed slight' of. returning , ' consciousnoss. 110. was,- however,: quite un- ■ • conscious on Thursday night.; On,'' Thursday j • afternoon an operation was performed. Tho ■ . cause, of. death was;■. meningitis,- following- ., upon-fracture of the base of. tho.skulL. ■ t i : Dr. Ewart, 'medical superintendent at;tho , "Wellington Hospital, stated-that; he-saw : . • ceased when ho was brought to. the iristitu--1 • tion..Deceased's .'condition showed 'improve- , i ■■ ment up till Thursday,; and he regained; par; ; tial consciousness, being ablo to; answer ques- : tions. Ho, .'however, ■ lapsed into 'a -comatose ■; condition on Thursday.morning, and following: ;•*-.-.- upon a consultation it was decided to perfohiv : ;/6f ; trephining ;the, skull- with ■ the/object; of relieving .tho. pressure. ;• Clots of bloodon tho brain, laccration .of-the brain , ; ■ itself,' : :-and.'mehiiigitis';.,were. iioted- .Tho cause , . of <doath was meningitis, following! upon fracture of tho skull.. \ OTHER EVIDENCE; . ■< • Philip Myers, merchant, . gave evidence / that deceased,-boarded ; the. ..tram at .Stewart f Dawson's Corner, and conversed with-:him until the'car approached-Woodward Streot. ] Joll'then'alighted :'from ..the; car, facing -the ; ■ rear,-, and fell heavily on ..thesback; of - his, . head. -Witness would; say that' the, speed i of the car. at that moment was from fiveto ; - six miles per hour. -He did not think . '■*that', deceased- rang' tho bell, but. got; up and , - walked out, as df under,the impression ithat, • ■ the"-car'had stopped. , Witness Was of ■ opinion .that t-ho:occurrence-was purely acci- ; dental, duo to thoughtlessness on tho part ; • of deceased. i George Edward Handcock, motorman, dc- , posed that on (April 20 • ho, was. in charge . cf a car proceeding from Miramar; to the- . ' ' Government Station. On approaching i Woodward Street;' off Lambton Quay, ho ] was aware of someorio ■ alighting ; from 1 the car'on botlifeet: 110 applied tho'hand j ' brake ? slightlyy.and) on. hearing ; gency 'whistle from the conductor, he pulled ; up. ' Witness went over to.the Club Hotel,. and -asked, that Dr.-Henry, be j summoned;- j Ho received ,no "signal beyond', the emcr- . . ' gency whistle, and saw nothing : of the : 'acci- , dent itself.' • > ■ Frederick■ Dunniug, conductor -of tho car, . • ' -stated • that he was standing" at; the rear . • - of the car when the accidont occurred. Ho saw deceased'in tho act of alighting from tho car, which was'- then" running (at - five > • miles an hour. Witness had iiot been sig- ( , nailed to stop, and called out to deceased,' ; who let go the hand-rail (tho car was of. tho Palace type). . Witness immediately gave " the emergency signal, the car stopped in its own length, and ho went. to assist Joll;; t' who was unconscious and; bleeding freely.v; , Constablo Manson Chant, who with Con- - stablo -Wood .was riding at the rear of tho 1 ' .car,' gavo corroborative evidence. When Joll proceeded to alight, tho car conductor ' called out, "Look out!" / : , This was' all the evidence., ?.Tho jury returned a verdict in'accordance with the ■ medical ovidence, namely, that death was , duo to meningitis, following upon fracturcr of. tho skull. No blamo was attached .to anyone. - . ", -• ■ :. , .