BUS AND CAR COLLIDE

Evening Star, Issue 20257, 19 August 1929, Page 8

BUS AND CAR COLLIDE

MAGISTRATE’S COURT PROCEEDINGS A special sitting of tho Magistrate s Court was held this morning before Air J R Bartholomew, S.M., the proceedings involving a claim for damages arising out of a collision between a_ motor bus and a car on the Maipoii balls road on December 21. Robert William Gosden, an engineer at Waipori Falls, proceeded against Archibald' Brown, a bus proprietor <>t Berwick, in respect to a, chum tor £LH 8s Bd, this amount being the plaintiff’s estimate of damage alleged to ha\e been done to his car as tho result ol a collision with defendant’s bus. In his statement of claim tho plaintiff alleged that the defendant had driven negligently. Mr P. S. Anderson appeared lor the plaintiff and Mr J. M. Paterson lor the defendant. Evidence regarding the spot where the collision occurred was given by Honry Louis Paterson, surveyor. Tho plaintiff said, that at about 2 p.m. he was driving his car towards Waipori, and at a bend in. the road, which he approached in second gear at about 12 to 14 miles per hour, he put the brakes on and slowed up, having then only steering way on the car. Also he was close in to the bank. About three-quarters of the way around tho bend be saw the top corner of tho left-hand side of the defendant’s bus. It was then about 3011 away. When witness saw the driver the bus was about 12ft away, Tho bus was right iu the wheel .marks on tho driver’s right-hand side, and as far as witness could see, the defendant came oh as though to follow these marks right round. Witness jammed on his brakes, turned tho wheels info tho hank, ami stopped. He had four-wheel brakes, and they were in good order. Tho right hand front wheel of the bus seemed to strike the bumper, bar on witness’s car, the car being pushed back about 2ft Gin and swung out into tho road about oft. The left rear wheel was pushed about Ifiin up tho bank. Witness sawonly the side face of the bus driver as the bus came around tlfe bend. It loked as though he had turned his head to speak to somebody, and did nob see witness at that time. Somebody on the bus called: “Look out!” Witness detailed the damage done to his car. To Mr Paterson: After seeing tho bus he went about 12ft- before pulling up. At the time of impact be would' be taking up 7ft of the road. Mr Paterson said that to .allow the vehicles to pass at the point of impact the defendant’s bus ivould have Lad to go 3ft Gin over on to the grass. Witness added that he would not say the defendant was travelling fast. Arthur Edmund' Gosden, the plaintiff’s brother, who was' also in the car, gave evidence of a corroborative nature, Robert Macdonald M'Gowan, who had' gone to the scene of the collision froip Waipori, and Arthur Thomas Steven and Herbert Robert Wright, passengers on the bus, also gave evidence. (Proceeding.)