COLLISION DESCRIBED

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 October 1946, Page 3

COLLISION DESCRIBED

NEGLECT BY RAILWAYMEN ALLEGED HEARINGOFCHARGES (P.A.) AUCKLAND, Oct. 17. The hearing of the charges against the driver and the fireman of a train involved in the smash at Papatoetoe on August 24 was continued in the Magistrate’s Court this afternoon. The accused, both of whom are charged with neglect of duty and causing actual bodily harm to passengers, are George Robert Pretoria Dickson, an engine-driver, aged 46, single, and Desmond Samuel Illsley, a fireman, aged 22, single. It was alleged that both the accused, by unlawfully and wilfully omitting and neglecting to observe that a down home signal was showing red, indicating danger, when approaching the Papatoetoe railway station, endangered the safety of Donovan John Whale and others,, who were being conveyed in a train travelling from Auckland to Papakura. It was also alleged that they caused actual bodily harm to William Henry Gallagher in circumstances that if the death of that person had been caused the accused would have been guilty of manslaughter. A description of the accident was given by a shift clerk, John Diggle, who was in charge of the Papatoetoe railway station at the time. He said that normally the train arrived from Auckland at 11.27 a.m., and usually on Saturdays it was crossed over, brought to the other line, the engine reversed, and made ready to leave for Auckland again at noon. Signals Received. The witness said that on August 24, as a special express from Wellington was expected, the suburban train was put on the down main line to allow the express a clear run. At 11.47 a.m. he received a departure signal for the express from Papatoetce, and, allowing for the _ normal running time of 12 minutes, it should have passed through Papatoetoe at 11.59 a.m. At 11.53 a.m., said the witness, he he received a departure signal lot train 141 from Otahuhu, and it should have arrived at 11.58 a.m. He intended to hold train 141 outside No. 28 down home signal until the departure of the express. “I noticed that the spot lights between the two sets of points had gone out, and knew bv that that train 141 had rim past No". 28 down home signal,” said the witness. “ Realising that a collision was imminent, I rushed to the platform and saw No. 141 arriving.at the usual speed of a suburban tram. A collision occurred at the northern end of the platform.” . Thomas William Mortimer said he was the guard on train 141, which left Auckland at 11.25 a.m. He said he saw the two accused before the train left Auckland, and then took up his position in the first car behind the engine, part of which was used as a guard’s van. He did not speak to the accused, but he could see they were sober. When the train left Otahuhu it vzas two minutes late, and he did not notice what the signals were showing after leaving Mangere crossing. He felt a slight application of the brakes as the train ran over the points at Papatoetoe at the normal speed, and he then went to open the door to step on to the platform. Then he was thrown to the floor and knocked unconscious. As a result of the injuries he suffered he was still off duty. Injuries to Passengers. Passengers on the train gave evidence of being thrown to the floor or knocked from their seats and suffering injuries which necessitated medical treatment. William Henry Gallagher, a carpenter employed by the Railways Department, said he was boarding the stationary train at the platform. “I was not able to do anything, but I was thrown back on to the platform.” The witness said he rolled on to the line beside the carriage, and as he thought the train might move, he struggled cut. Later he received treatment for spinal injuries, bruises, and cuts. A clerk, Ada Mary Hartley, said she was thrown from her seat to the floor, and when she tried to get up she could not. She suffered a fractured nose, a cut to her face, and shock. A typist, Dorothy Foster, a passenger in the second carriage from the engine, said she found herself on the floor with her legs pinned by a portion of the seat on which she had been sitting. Her injuries included two broken ribs and shock. Evidence of treating passengers at the Auckland and Green Lane Hospitals was given by several medical practitioners. The hearing was adjourned until to-morrow.