MIKIWAKA FATALITY

Evening Star, Issue 22890, 23 February 1938, Page 7

MIKIWAKA FATALITY

MOTOR DRIVER'S DEATH INQUEST CONCLUDED The inquest was concluded this morning concerning the death of Edmund Eugene Murphy, who was killed on January 29 while engaged in military exercises in the Mihiwaka district. _Mr J. P. Ward represented the relatives of the deceased and Mr A. L. M. Willis the Post and Telegraph Department. William Pollard, ■ a captain in the Royal New Zealand Artillery, said that on the week-end'commencing Saturday, January 29, . the deceased was a sergeant of engaged in military manoeuvres at Mihiwaka, and part of his duties was, driving, the. Post and Telegraph van, which was used for transport purposes. He was instructed to return to Central Battery, St. Kilda. The deceased left witness .about 6.15 p.m. Between 6.45 p.m. and 7 p.m. he was informed that an accident had occurred to the van and that Murphy had been seriously injured. On reaching the scene of the accident it was found that the machine had been righted and moved to one side of the road.

To Mr Ward, witness said that the vehicles were obtained from the Post and Telegraph Department on all occasions. The deceased commenced his duties at approximately 2 p.m., and would have continued till about 1 p.m. on the Sunday.. His pay was 5s 6d a day, with rations. There was no suggestion of any liquor as far as decea'sed was concerned.

Ralph Ernest Sleigh, a salesman, who attended the military camp at Mihiwaka, said that about 6.40 p.m., when motoring with the previous witness, he was informed of the accident to the deceased. The latter had driven witness about 6.15 p.m. that day in the same van, and on receipt of the news they immediately went to the scene of the accident. On arrival they found that the van had been righted and

moved to one side, hut there were skid marks which showed that it had skidded and struck the left-hand side of the road facing Dunedin and had then overturned.

To Mr Ward, witness said that from the driver’s point of view tho ; skid was from left to right. The vehicle swerved to the. right and then sharply to the left into the bank.

To Mr Willis witness said that deceased had no difficulty in controlling the. vehicle.

Gordon Hall Driver, engineer, stated that he arrived on the scene of the accident about 6.35 p.m. in the Mihiwaka district, about four miles frop the Main road. The deceased was in the cab of-the van. Shoftly after witness arrived a military motor cyclist came on the scene, followed by two officers. One officer left, for medical aid and the other remained, directing and assisting to remove the injured man from the cab. After he was taken out he was. breathing heavily 1 and was removed for medical attention. The deceased was placed in the witness’s motor car,-and when about half a mile on the southern side of the horse trough on Mount Cargill they met the doctor, who said Murphy was dead. At the scene of the accident the skid marks could be seen where the van bad skidded in the loose shingle, causing it to strike' the bank and capsize. The van would not have to be driven at an excessive speed to cause the skid. It was light in the back and unsuited for a gravel road.

Edward Smith, a commercial traveller, who was in the car with the provious_ witness, corroborated the evidence of his companion. The road at the scene of the accident was very, narrow, approximately 12ft in width, William _ Frederick Logie, a farmer, of Waitati, said ho saw the van going along the road. Its speed . could not have been less than 30 miles an hour. He _ watched the dust caused by the vehicle, and when he saw it stop suddenly he told the driver of a military van that he thought there must have been an accident. He heard no crash. To Mr_ Ward the witness said he formed his estimate of the car’s speed from the dust, and admitted telling the police at the time that he estimated the speed at 25 miles an hour, but was now of the opinion that he had under-estimated it.

Constable George. William Gow, of Waitati, described the section of the road where the accident occurred, and detailed the damage to the van. Perciva) Millard, a motor mechanic, employed by the Post and Telegraph Department, detailed work carried out on the van about a week prior to the accident, and also braking tests which he had carried out. He certified that

the brakes, responded perfectly to all the tests. . _ To Mr Ward the witness said that there was no oil in the mechanism of the front brake, but he knew it was discovered there after the accident. He could give no explanation. as to how the oil had entered the mechanism after the accident.

To the coroner (Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.): It was said that when the vehicle left the workshops on the Thursday _ before the _ accident there was no oil in the braking; mechanism. David Albert Fraser, a chauffeur, employed by the Post aud Telegraph Department, said that he had driven the van to which the accident occurred on January 29, when he had to traverse a number of the steepest roads in Anderson’s Bay and St. Clair, in addition to driving through the traffic in the city’s main streets. While he was in control of the vehicle it was m perfect mechanical condition. To Mr Ward_ the witness said that the van was quite safe at-25 miles an hour.

Transvaal Walter Coxton, a vehicle inspector, employed' by the Transport Department, detailed his. inspection ot the van after the accident. There was no warrant of fitness in the vehicle when it was inspected. The mechanism of the front right-hand brake was not acting, and on inspection it was found to be full of oil. After this had been washed out and an adjustment made it functioned perfectly. Whether the brake was faulty before the accident he was unable to say. To Mr Ward witness said that in his opinion the presence of the oil in the braking mechanism wolud partly account for the van sweeping when the brakes were applied, and as the vehicle stood at the time of the inspection the faulty adjustment would supply the other part. The oil in the braking mechanism might have got there after the accident by running out of the engine while the van was on its side, i'here were signs on the engine that this had occurred. Witness could not account for the front brakes being slack. The Coroner said the deceased was the holder of a license for driving motor and trade vehicles, so he should have been a competent driver, though he might not have had much experience with that particular vehicle. The road was narrow, with a loose surface, which would require very careful negotiation. There was a difference of opinion respecting the speed of the vehicle before the accident, and there were not eye-witnesses of the actual accident, which occurred on a straight piece of road. There was evidence that the van had been overhauled, and on the actual day of the accident had been driven by a postal chauffeur on

hilly roads, when it behaved quite satisfactorily. Any opinion of the actual cause of the accident would be surmise. A verdict would be returned that death was duo to injuries received through being crushed in the motor van tlio deceased was driving, accidentally capsizing at Mihiwaka on January 29.