THREE CHARGES

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 19994, 20 July 1939, Page 7

THREE CHARGES

INDICTABLE LIST SEQUEL TO FATALITY COLLISION WITH CYCLIST CASE AGAINST NEPIA The hearing of three indictable charges, one of negligent driving so as to cause the death of Irjs Annie Berry, aged 22, single, and two .further Charges of failing to. stop aftei an accident was continued against a Maori, Mark Nepia, aged 49, in the Police Court this afternoon. Nepia, who pleaded not guilty to all the’charges was represented by Mr. A. A. Whitehead, with him. Mr. D C. Purdie, the prosecutor being Senior-Sergeant J. F. H. Macnamara. The charges arose out of a fatal accident on the Gisborne-Wairoa highway on the evening of June 23, in Which Miss Berry lost her life. Mr. M. ft; Maude is appearing on behalf of 7 the relatives of the deceased.

Charges heard against Nepia this morning, prior + ' the rea’ing of the indictable charges, were one of driving -a motor vehicle while in a state of ’intoxication and one of driving a metor-vehicle while not the holder of *a driver’s 'license. Judgment on these charges was reserved. Heard a Crash Mrs. Jean Margaret Wells said that she had been at the corner of the Taruheru bridge road, where it sected with the main highway, on the night of the accident. After she had been, waiting for about a quarter of an hour she saw two cyclists coming around the bend towards her, both bicycles being lighted, with the .riders side by side cn the left-hand ■side Ox the road. Shortly afterwarns a car came into view, travelling towards Gisborne directly behind the cyclists. When the traffic was about two chains away she heard a crash, and, following this, the car continued towards Gisborne, with the appearance of being driven very eratically after she heard the crash. Witness moved back when she saw the card coming on as just past the intersection, the driver jammed on" the brakes and the car came back towards the by-xcad as though it was about to turn into the Taruheru road. As it turned, the car went into a drain on the side of the road and remained there. She did not see the driver or the passengers in the car get out then and another car came along the road from the direction of town and continued on. She saw the second car return and stop in front of the car in the drain. A man got out of this car, took a notebook out of his pocket and made some notes. The driver of the car which came back spoke to someone in the car in the drain and then went back to the scene of the collision, witness also going back to the scene. Miss Berry had one leg cn the bitumen and the rest of her body was on the metal at the side of the road. Miss Smith was lying right off the bitumen in front of Miss Berry.

To Mr. Whitehead, the witness said <,h -■ bad watched the car travelling behind the cyclists for some considerable time. She did not notice, before thd accident, any C'ilher traffic on the road. . Passenger’s Evidence Ben Apaapa, a passenger in Nepia’s car, said tnat. In company with Nepia, he had been travelling towards town in a car driven by a man named Pickles. The car became stuck in a river and Nepia went and got a car owned toy him, Pickles driving this car half-way to Wae-renga-o-kuiri, en route to town, Ne.pia then taking over the driving. A stop was made at the Waerenga-o-kun Hotel at about 5.30 p.m. and the men had some drinks. Witness had four drinks apd ho supposed that Nepia had had the same number ox drinks. About 6 p.m. the men left the hotel and came' away in the car, Nepia still being the driver with witness sitting next to him. A third man was sitting in the back seat of. the car. Nepia was quite sober and was handling the car all right.

After .passing MakaraKa,_ continued Apaapa, >fhe car was being driven In the centre of the bitumen and the witness was talking to the passenger in the back of the car. Turning round, he saw the cycles and ducked his head,' hearing a crasn alongside the car as he got his head down. The car did not scop after he heard the crash, but, after slowing down, proceeded towards Gisboi ne, Nepia still being the driver.

Witness said that he fold Nepia to stop, but got no reply. He -thought Nepia had 'lost his mind and witness made an effort to pull on the brake, 'but .the accused still continued on for some distance. A car then came around! from behind Nepia’s car and Stopped 'them, but witness did not know" who was in this second car. Taken to Police Station The man who stopped them, said the witness, came over to the ear and told Nepia and his passengers to get into his car, the men then being taken to the police station. Nepia’s car may have been in the ditch, but witness did. not know how it got there. He made no comment to the driver of the second car while en route to the police station, but Nepia had told .witness to say that he (Apaapa) was the driver of the car. To ease his mind, witness said he would say he was the driver. Grosls'-examined, Apaapa said he was coming into town to see a doctor and the other man in the car was coming in to the hospital. He had particularly asked Nepia to bring him into town, but Nepia had said that he would rather take him to Nepia s home to stay over-night. Nepia had wanted to go to 'his home, but witness had asked him to bring him into town.

Following the accident Nepia seemed very upset and, when the other car came on the scene, witness said, in his opinion, the second car had 1 .tried' to swerve Nepia s car in.o the ditch. Nepia did not move his ear after th" other car came in front ofhhn Witness denied telling Nepia first that !he would say that he (wit riess) was driving the car. The manager of the property on which Nepia Was working had told witness that Nepia was coming into town and to wait for him. (Proceeding.)