CAR AND TRUCK CRASH

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 June 1935, Page 5

CAR AND TRUCK CRASH

THREE PEOPLE INJURED 1

BURNING PETROL’S HAVOC

[PER PRESS ASSOCIATION.]

AUCKLAND, June 17.

A man and two women were discovered, gravely injured, soon after four o’clock, this morning, on the Great South Road. They were: — Miss Florence Wigmore, 19, who was removed to hospital suffering from a fractured skull; Miss Judy Blake, 19, suffering from concussion; The man injured was George Whitehouse, 29, of Palmerston North, employed as an able seaman on the cruiser, Diomede.

The three belong to Auckland, and were in a motor car which came into violent collision with a motor lorry which caught fire. The collision occurred on a level stretch of concrete near Takanini. The car, which was a light one, was wrecked, and the three-ton truck caught fire and was destroyed. A resident nearby, who heard the crash, said that immediately afterwards the driver of the truck came, to the house and asked for help. When she reached the scene, the driver of the car was lying the road covered by a rug. His clothes had been on fire, but the truck driver had extinguished the flames. One unconscious girl was lying beside the road, and,another girl was sitting on the side of the ditch, talking incoherently. This girl said there was a second man in the car, but although a search was made, no trace of him could be found.

The girl said that the driver of the car had taken her and her friend to Taranaki to exchange a motor car. The exchange had been made at Mokau and they were returning in a leisurely way when the collision occurred.

Another resident said the driver of the car was thrown on to the middle of the road, and the door of the car was lying on top of him. There was a burning stream of petrol from 4he man to the truck, which was about 50 yards away. A spare tank of petrol had been ripped open, and the contents had leaked from the point of impact to where the truck had stopped. A spark from the car had ignited the petrol and fire ran along the road to the truck which was loaded with furniture and merchandise. The truck and load were soon in flames. FATAL INJURIES. CHRISTCHURCH, June 17. Miss Louisa Mildred Walker, 49, die'd in the hospital,, this morning, from serious injuries received four days ago in Fendalton Road, when her bicycle was struck by a motor car. , MOTOR-JIGGERS COLLIDE. INVERCARGILL, June 17. Two motor jiggers came into collision on the Tuatapere branch line late on Saturday night, with the result that John Stanton, of Tewaewae, surfaceman, received a leg injury, necessitating amputation, at the Riverton Hospital. Mrs. Jackson, wife of the 'guard stationed at Tuatapere, who was a passengerl on-the jigger, received injuries to the head, and H. Jackson, himself, slight concussion. ' ' Two travellers on the other jigger escaped injury.