RAILWAY TRAGEDY

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 March 1928, Page 12

RAILWAY TRAGEDY

COMMENTS BY CORONER

SYDNEY, March 12.

Railway servants were severely censured by the Liverpool District Coroner (Mr P. S. Poolman) when, at Liverpool Courthouse, he concluded the inquiry concerning' the deaths of Arthur Leslie Clark, 23, and Ada Hoy. 22, who were killed at Cabramatta railway station on January. 28 by the Canberra Mail. Sergeant Allen, of Auburn, said that he interviewed Edna Hoy, the third member of the party concerned in the accident, and she had made the following statement to him: —“We got into a train at Sydney. The door on the other side was locked. Arthur Clark called a porter at Cabramatta station. He had no key and gave Clark his hand lamp, and told them to get on the other side on to the railway line. We all had tickets, rhe signals were all right, and were showing the red light.” William Edward Barton, night-oflicer in charge of Cabramatta station, on the night of the accident, said that he collected the tickets from passengers on the Campbelltown train. Then he gave the rightaway. The train started to pull out, when he saw some people trying to get out of a box cam riage' near the engine. He had tire train stopped, and walked over to the carriage. He tried to open it with one hand, but failed and then placed his hand lamp inside the carriage on the seat, and endeavoured to open the dooi* with t-wo hands. He failed again and next saw two people walking out of the barrier. He collected their’ tickets, and walked to the guard to get a carriage key, but noticed the guard walking towards him. He then went back to the carriage and found it empty, and his hand lamp was gone. He walked back and told the guard to S Under cross-examination, witness denied giving the deceased the lamp, or telling them to alight on the line. “I am satisfied that Barton gave them the lamp, and told them to get on the line,” said the Coroner, “and they met their deaths through his contributory negligence. lam quite satisfied that the railway regulations are frequently broken. I have seen mail trains pass through stations in the suburbs at night at 40 m.p.h. without headlights lit. The railway employees are too lazy to light them, and to carry out many other regulations. Frequently carriages overrun the platforms, and school children and others have to climb out on to the metal. Railway inspectors do not do their jobs. If they see a porter with a wrong cap on they reprimand him, but where lives are concerned they do nothing.” Mr C. Attwill, for the Commissioners protested against the Coroner’s statements, and he replied: “I mean it. Every word.” The Coroner found that Clarke and Miss Hoy died from shock due from injuries accidentally received by being run down by the Canberra, mail, and added that, “the crude and inadequate kerosene lighting on Cabramatta station was a source of the greatest danger to the travelling public, and should be replaced with electricity at once.” He also found that William Edward Barton was guilty of contributory negligence by allowing the deceased to alight on the line, and committed him for trial for manslaughter at the Parra matta Quarter Sessions on April 2.