INQUEST ON CAR VICTIM

Grey River Argus, 3 October 1934, Page 6

INQUEST ON CAR VICTIM

SPEED IN QUESTION Was Deceased Seen ? (Per Press Association.) AUCKLAND, October 2. A n inquest concerning the death of Edmund (Jesrge Stephen (Joppinger. 39. of Kemueia, was concluded by Mr \V. R. McKean. S.M. (Coroner). Deceased, who was employed by L. D. Nathan and < Ltd. as a foreman, received fatal injuries when he was knocked down by a ear driven by Frederick William Whitaker, retired farmer. of Gladstone Road,- shortly aft'er S p'.m. on September 18, near ’he intersection of Customs ami Fort Streets. At the inquest. Mr G‘ddstine watched the proceedings for

lhe widow of the deceased, and M 1 Schramm appeared for Whitaker. Dr Phillips, house-surgeon at the Auckland Hospital, said that deceased was suffering from severe concussion and severe injuries probably fl fracture of the spinal column, compound fracture of the right leg below the knee, a ’urge wound in the left leg. hamn-rrhage ami .-hock. Death occurred four hours later.

William Henry Kitto, a packer employed by L. D. Nathan anti Co., said that he was walking along Fort St., in company wirh deceased. At the intersection. witness left C'oppinger.

“I had gone about. 33 feet when my attention was drawn to a car coming along Beach Road towards the city.” witness said- “It was the speed of •'he car, easily in excess of 4-0 miles per hour, that made me look. Almost immediately after looking, 1 saw the

ear strike Copp'ingcr and I saw a parcel of wood he was carrying go hurtling over the car. There was a tram approaching in the 'opposite direction, find I heard the screeching of its brakes. The car carried (’oppinger some distance, and the next thing T saw was Coppinger being thrown by it against the tram, which by this time appeared to have come to a standstill.'- Witness said that the uh cor car continued on, but eventually stopped. Measurements were later taken and it was found that the distance from whore C’oppinger was. struck t<» where lie was thrown against the ■fram was 88 fecit, while ihe distance from where he was thrown against the tram to where the car stoppi'd was 268 feet. George iFowlie molorman, said that he was driving a. tram along Uustoms Street towards Romuera. As witness was approaching For] Street he noticed a man starting to cross Customs Street, as if he 'intended to be a passenger on the tram. When the man was- about two yards from I lit' foot path, witness noticed the headlights of a car, at leas'! 100 yards away. The car struck the man when he was about four feet from the inward rails. “I appeared r-s if the man was thrown right into the air,’’ witness continued. tl lie pas ed the side of my cabin about eight feet in lhe air. and struck the tram about two fee* behind the front gate. I did not expect that there would b<‘ an accident as 'then l appeared to be plenr.y of ro ni for the car Io miss the pedestrian. At the time of the impact. I consider that the car was travel ling nt between 43 and 33 miles an hour. ’ ’ "Witness said 'that after the accident, he walked along in the dircc tion the car had taken, and met a mail coming toward-, the scene of •'lnaccident. Witness asked the man if he had seen the car which had been involved, and the man replied ‘‘l did it, but T never saw him.’' Witness noticed that the man’s breath smell', of

Ijqui;!’. but he wais .steady on his feet, and hi.’ speech was not affected. Mrs Edith Bowles gave evidence that she was standing in Fort S'trOe''. when :ihe noticed a man with a bag start to run across the street, as if trying to catch a dram. He appeared 'to have head down, and did not seem to be looking for traffic. Witness saw. the car strike the man. She did not noticed any difference in the speed of the car after (lhe impact. It appeared, t•> her tha't, from the way the car continued on, that the driver did not know ho had struck anyone. She noticed nothing unusual in the speed of (the car. The Coroner returned a verdict that the actual cause of death was concussion. serious shock, and haemorrhage, following injuries received l?y deceased as the result of his being struck by a motor-car driven by Whitaker. “I will not make any further comments on the master at the present time,” Mr McKean added.