INQUEST.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 22 August 1924, Page 4

INQUEST.

DEATH THROUGH MOTOR ACCIDENT. An inquest into the circumstances touching the death of James Henry King was held yesterday afternoon before the coroner, Mr J. S. Barton, S.M. b Sergeant Henry said" that on the evening of August 13 deceased was on his way from Hawera to Normanby, where he resided. Deceased w r as seen approaching the intersection by Quin’s mill, his lorry apparently being out of control. Just past the intersection the lorry overturned, and when deceased was extricated he was practically dead. Dr. Buist, who was called to the scene of the accident, said he found deceased on the side of the road covered b *°od an -d apparently dead. He had him removed to the hospital, and there a closer examination confirmed this opinion. Deceased had a large scalp wound behind the right ear and his skull was fractured, such injuries‘'being consistent with the report that he had been the victim of an accident with an overturned lorry. >\ m. E. Good said that prior to the accident lie was approaching the intersection by Quin’s mill, when he noticed the lorry deceased was driving approaching him. The lorry made to turn up Wilson street, but came back on to Glover road, narrowly missinothe post on the corner. Witness heard the report as of a bursting tyre, and on seeing the lorry sway lie pulled his car up beside the road. The lorry then overturned, and slid along the road on its side at right angles with the road. \\ ltness, with the assistance of a man named Purdey, lifted the lorry (which was a. converted car) and found deceased underneath. They got him out on to the side of the" road. Deceased still showed signs of life, but he could not speak. Witness said that when he first saw the lorry it was travelling fairly fast, and it did not seem to slacken pace when it swerved. After the accident had occurred he heard a child screaming, but others present attended to it. C. A. E. Purdey corroborated the evidence given by Good. S. A. Linforth said that before turning the truck over he examined the rear brakes, and found-.ihem useless. He later examined the foot brake, and found that practically useless. It was not in sufficiently good order to stop the vehicle when going over six miles per hour. Witness' said he had examined the road in the vicinity where the accident occurred, and it was apparent that deceased had been travelling fast and the truck had got out of control when he got on to the soft portion of the road beside the tar seal. The left-hand iront tube had blown out inside the tyre. Constable Pidgeon said that deceased was of strictly sober habits, and was a careful driver. The finding was that deceased was accidentally killed in a motor accident near Hawera on August 13. The coroner mentioned that he would report to his department on the matter of the brakes, which made the a menace to other vehicles on the road. Such brakes were a breach of the Motor Regulations Act, which required a motor vehicle to have two brakes capable of locking the wheels.