RAILWAY FATALITY.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 683, 7 December 1909, Page 7

RAILWAY FATALITY.

DEATH OF AN OLD AGE PENSIONER.' j A |,,t}ie , hospital ; yesterday afternoon, Dr. S.M., district coroner*: conducted ai f, inqinry .into the. circumstances connected with the death of an old age : pensioner'named Emm Cos,' aged ,69, who waa.knocked do\yn by a train at the Hutt Road railway crossing, near Petone Btation, about 8 a.mi : on Saturday last, and sustained injuries . to.;, which he succumbed a few hows after. . '

Sergeant: Mathieson 1 appeared"for: the police. .Br. Hardwicke Smith, medical superintendent at the hospital, ■ gave' evidence that deceased, when admitted to the hospital, was found to have sustained d fracture at the base of the skull, a compound fracture of tho'right thighbone, the bono being: smashed in several places, and a.fracture of tno pelvic bone, was due to the. in juries received. . • The evidence of Joseph Booth, driver of the train in question, was to tho effect that, when approaching the crossing near Petono, ho whistled for 'line clear." This was given him; Ho had a good'viow of the crossing when passing the engine box, and saw a-man approach the line from the west side. Witness whistled —a long ■ ' deceased ■' acknowledged this by turning, towards the engine, and then stepping back a couplo of paces, being then about nine feet from the-rails,'and remained there, which suggested to witness -that he ;was aware of tho train's approach, and; was waiting for it to pass. Witness lipt on' his way, and when half-way over the his view being then obscurcd by the dome, chimney, and sand-box of tho engine, the fireman called on him to stop, as a man was crossing in front of . the train. Witness shut off steam,, applied the Westinghouse brake, and pulled up the train. . V

Frank Hugh Burns, fireman of the train, corroborated the evidence of the previous wit-' .ness/ arid added that the cow-catcher of the engine was nearly opposite deceased when witness saw him step, forward as if, to cross over in front of the engine.' Witness called oat "Stop!" and blow the whistle. Deceased appeared to "walk into the engino." : It was too late -to avoid the accident. ' Evidence was also given by Arthur John Collins Cox, son of deceased, James Fletchor, farmer, and Mrs. Elizabeth Hesketh, both of Petono, who saw tho occurrence. ■- . ■ ' The coroner's finding was to the_ effect 'that deceased died from injuries received when knocked down by the train, and that no blamo was attachable to either the driver of the fireman of tho train. '.' - .