SPEEDWAY RIDER’S DEATH

Dominion, Volume 25, Issue 68, 14 December 1931, Page 6

SPEEDWAY RIDER’S DEATH

Verdict at Inquest

Delivering his finding iu au inquest held on Saturday as to the death of Austin Vernon Radcliffe, who died from injuries received from a fall at the dirt track races at Wellington on November 28, Mr. T. B. McNeil, S.M., said the evidenc esatisfied him that the cause of deatli had been a pure accident, and that no blame was attachable to anyone. a The Coroner added that he was satisfied, also, that another rider in the race, named Hunger, did not run over the deceased. He ueed not reproach himself in any way. Concluding his remarks, Mr. McNeil drew the attention of officers of thc speedway organisation to the necessity of having a steward to see that in every race the competitors had their helmets securely fastened. This, apparentlpy, had been the practice in the past, and had been insisted on by officers of the club. The fact that the deceased's skull had not been fractured showed that the helmets, properly worn, were a protection to the rider. In this case, the Coroner said, he had been informed that deceased’s helmet had been loosened after the accident, by ambulance men.