FATAL COLLISION

Evening Star, Issue 21628, 25 January 1934, Page 11

FATAL COLLISION

INQUEST ON CYCLIST The circumstances touching the death of John M'Callum, the cyclist who died in the Dunedin Hospital on January 4 following a collision with a motor car near Forbury Corner, was held in the courthouse this morning, before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., sitting as coroner. Sergeant O’Shea conducted the inquiry for the police, and Mr J. G. Warrington appeared for the driver of the car which collided with the deceased. Dr J. H. North, in giving medical evidence, enumerated the injuries sustained by the deceased and said that he developed pneumonia on January 3 and died the. next day. The cause of death was pneumonia, due to. the crushed injury of the lung, consistent with being crushed by a motor car. William James Penny, a relief worker residing in Dornock street, Kew, said that on January 2 his brother-in-law, John Hanlon, left by train for Christchurch, and ne_ asked witness to drive him to the station. _ Witness agreed to do so, and, on leaving the station, he went to North Dunedin with his wife before returning to Hewitt’s garage. He found the garage closed and decided to go on to Hanlon’s homo in Dornock street. At about 5 p.m. he was turning Forbury Corner out of Cargill road with the intention of going up Esther crescent. He saw two cyclists coming from St. Clair on their proper side of the road. Before getting to Esther crescent he sounded his horn and put out his right hand to indicate that he was turning. . The car was travelling at* between ten and twelve miles an hour, and he had intended changing gears at the foot of Esther crescent. The two cyclists and witness arrived at the intersection at the same time. When witness, who was on his correct side, turned the car across the road, one of the cyclists turned in with him and the other swerved past the rear of the car. When the cyclist swerved into Easther crescent hp tried to get round in front of the car, and witness swerved to the right in the endeavour to avoid_ a collision. Witness thought if the cyclist had kept to the left when ho turned in towards Easther crescent he would have been safe, but he passed in front of the car, the left front wheel of which struck the cyclist’s front wheel and upset the machine. Witness at once applied the foot brakes, and pulled the car up within a few yards. Witness got out of the car, and found the cyclist and bicycle under the left running board of the car. Three or four men helped him to take the cyclist to Dr Murray’s house till the ambulance came. The cyclist was then removed to the hospital Witness was not the holder of a driver’s license for the current year: the last one he held was in 1928 or 1929. Prior to that he bad held one in 1925. His brother-in-law had not asked if he held a license, and witness had not told him. The foot brake of the car was in good order, but the hand brake was useless. Witness had had no liquor, and was quite sober. He did not think the deceased noticed him when he turned into Easther crescent. Witness had never previously had an accident; To Mr Warrington: He first saw the cyclist when he came round the bend at Forbury Corner. Walter .Edward Cox, a City Corporation labourer, working at the St. Clair quarry, and residing at Caversham, said that he was accompanying the deceased on this evening. They were cycling along Forbury road from St. Clair. They were riding abreast on their correct side of the road, thp deceased being nearer to the kerb. When they were * about 30yds from Easther crescent he saw a car coming round Forbury Corner from Cargill road. He saw the driver put out his right hand as he turned Forbury Corner. Deceased and witness reached Easther crescent at the same time as the car. Witness heard no horn, and did not notice any warning that the driver was going to proceed into Easther crescent, when witness saw they were in danger he swerved to the right, and M'Callum to the left. The car seemed to be going at an ordinary pace coming round Forbury Corner. To Mr Warrington: - They were roughly thirty yards from Esther crescent when they first saw the car, and the car would bo about the same distance from that street, the car and the cyclists being about fifty or sixty yards apart. The driver put out his hand as lie came round the bend, and the next moment they found themselves in danger. Everything seemed

to happen suddenly. Witness did not notice if the driver had his hand out after coining round the corner. When the driver’s hand was out witness had not thought him about to turn into Esther crescent. He had not taken any warning from the signal. Esther crescent was the only turning to the right. Witness was talking to M'Callum as they were riding along even after they saw the car. Deceased did not mention the motor car coming round the corner, and might not have seen it until he had to swerve. The whole road appeared to he clear and they did not anticipate any danger. Walter Dick Hanlin, employed on relief works as a garden inspector and residing in Shortland street, said that at about'6 o’clock that evening he got off a tram at Forbury corner. He saw the car turn Forbury corner, and it seemed to be going slowly—about ten miles per hour. From where he was standing he could not see if the driver put out his right hand. He did not hear him sound the horn. He saw the car turn on its correct side into Esther crescent, but did not notice the cyclists particularly. When witness heard the smash he followed the car. . , . Ronald Gerard Trpwer, a telegraph messenger who was in the vicinity at the time of the accident, and Constables Smyth and Timmins, of South Dunedin, also gave evidence. After summing up the evidence the Coroner said there was no suggestion of speeding on the part of the driver of the car, but unfortunately the deceased was dragged some distance, approximately 25ft, after the collision. The question he had to decide was whether the verdict should be ons of accident or whether it should be left open. It appeared to him after listening to the evidence that there’ was carelessness on both sides. The fact that the driver did not hold a license did not materially affect the position. The verdict would be that the deceased died on January 4 t from . pneumonia, due to the crushing of his lung and other injuries received by hmi in a collision between a motor car and his bicycle on January 2.