OTIRA FATALITY

Grey River Argus, 10 June 1933, Page 8

OTIRA FATALITY

INQUEST ON GANGER. “That the deceased, Richard. William Hilliard, came to his death at the Grey Hospital on Juno 2, from shock, following a fracture of the skull, a fracture of the right leg, and loss of blood, caused by an iron-bark pile falling on him from a truck at Otira, on the afternoon of June 2, 1933. All the usual precautions for safety appear to have been taken” was the verdict given by the Coroner (Mr W.Meldrum, S.M.), at the inquest held at Grey mouth yesterday concerning the death of a railway ganger, Richard William Hilliard, who died as the result of injuries received while at his work at Otira on June 2. . Sergeant M. Ilodgins conducted the proceedings for the police. The widow was represented by Mr. T. F. Brosnan, and Mr. J. A. Reynolds, Engineer, of Christchurch, represented the Railway Department.

Rev. Father Ilolohan, of Greymouth, gave evidence that he knew the deceased, and had last seen him at the Grey Hospital after death. Dr. Leslie G. Bell, Medical Superintendent of the Grey Hospital, said that he. had examined the deceased after his admission to the Hospital on June 2. He was suffering from a severe degree of shock, .fracture of the skull, fracture of the right leg and loss of blood. He had died at 9.30 p.m. on the same day. His injuries were consistent with a fall from a truck and a log rolling on him. Everything possible had been done for him in the Hospital. John Joseph Molloy, of Otira, a carpenter in the employ of the New Zealand Railways, said that on June 2, in company with the deceased and two other men he was unloading iron bark poles from a truck near the Power House at Otira. Witness, with a man named Rickson had been at one of the trucks and the deceased had been on top of it. He (the deceased) had a crowbar in his hand, his idea being that, when witness and the other man turned them over, he was to stop the piles slipping back. One of the piles had been unloaded quite successfully, but one of them had become jammed at one end of the truck. Witness and the other man who was with him had freed it and it fell to the ground at the other end, rebounding and breaking a stanchion that they had been unable to remove before commencing to unload the truck,‘as a pile had been jammed against, it. When the stanchion broke all of the piles had rolled forward, although <«v<‘ry precaution had been taken, the bottom piles being chocked. Deceased had been standing on one of the piles when it rolled forward and he went with them to the ground. He did not fall heavily, but appeared to bo mixed up with the piles that were going at tin* same time. There were five piles on the ground altogether after the accident. One of the piles must have struck the deceased in falling, as he was (piite free after the accident. First aid had been administered by a competent man a few feet from the accident. and the deceased had been placed on the train and taken to the Greymouth Hospital. The truck was beunloaded in the usual way, with every regard to safety. As far as witness knew, the deceased was a strong, healthv man.

William James Hopkins, of Otira, employed by the New Zealand Railways as a surfaceman, .who, with the deceased, the previous witness, and another man named Rickson, was unloading the truck when the accident took place, gave evidence on similar lines to that of the previous witness. He said that they had removed all but the jammed, stanchion. Ho had not seen the deceased hit with a pile, he seemed 1o be mixed up with thorn as they fell. This concluded the evidence and the Coroner returned Ihe aforementioned verdict.