BATTLEGROUND IN COURT

Hawera Star, Volume XLVII, 20 July 1928, Page 6

BATTLEGROUND IN COURT

THE TONGAHOE HILL

MAGISTRATE ’iS COMMENT. “That hill T know. It is a, battlefield in this court,” said Air .1. S. Laiton, SAC, in the ,11 awera Court yesterday, when Sergeant. Henry ivas outliniacr charges against a service ear driver Charles Lamb, of Wanganui, of driving at a greater speed than would permit the car being stopped within half the length of clear road visible, driving in a dangerous manner and failing .to keep to the left of the road centre line on the Tongahoe, hill on April 5. JDcf cudant, -\vlio pleaded not -guiltv on each, count, was represented bv Mr L. ’Golien. Proceedings were watched by .Mr G. J. Bayley on behalf of Mr C. J. Hawk on, who'was involved in a collision Avith the service car. The circunistances, said ’Sergeant Henry,. were that defendant was . proceeding from Ha Aver a to .Wanganui. At about 12.30 p.m. lie was descending the Tongahoe hill on the Hawera side. Rounding - the second bend from the top the car AA*as on its right hand, oi incorrect, side of the road and travelling at such a speed that it could not be stopped before colliding about 30 yards further on Aviith an approaching car drh-cn by Mr C’. J. IlaAvkcn. The point of compact Avas on the left haiid side of the road as the service car Avas traA-elling. The other car was on its right hand side Avhere it had gone to .pass a girl riding a horse in the same direction. This car Avas traA-cl-ling slOAvly and though it Avas on its Avrong side Avheu the impact took place the accident should have been avoidable but for the element of speed m the case of the service car, together Avith its having cut .the corner.

“T should ,s:tv the car was going fast,” said Cecii John Ha when in evidence. Witness inf >r:n?d the court that he first saw the service car .just, as he AA-as abreast of the girl riding the horse. That Avas ivlien the service ear W as rounding the bend about 20 yards away and it was close in to the bank on its right hand side of the road. Had the car kept to its left of the centre line of the road and taken the outside of the bend the driver -Avould have had a clear -view of witness’s car and the horse rider for about 43 yards and as a result either the service ear driA'cr or Avitness could .have taken action to UA-oid the accident. Just before OA’crtaking the horse witness’s car Avas travelling at about 20 miles an hour. Witness shut off the power when he suav the service car and Avlien the impact occurred witness’s car AA-as practically stopped. The service car Avas traA-elling in excess of 20 miles an hour at the corner. Though the brakes Avere applied at was still traA-elling with sufficient force at the point ; of impact to .push Avitness’s car sideAvays and cause damage to the extent of £73. Gladys Smitheran, residing at Hur-JeyA-ille, said she had been riding to ilriAvera on a horse Avhicli Avas restive. Ilea vino- a car approaching from behind she drew close to the left. The horse was walking. Just as the car drew abreast of her the service car, Avhieh appeared to be travelling fast, came round flic bond on its incorrect side and then cut across to its correct side. When Avitness first heard the car coming from ’behind the bend Avas about 15 yafds away. She Avas steadying her horse and Avent only a few feet further before she saAv the approaching car. She corrobatcd the opinion given by the prcA-ious Aviltness that, the accident was unavoidable under the circumstances, though it Avoid'd not have occurred had the seiwrxe ear been on its correct .side at the bond. "Charles Dickie, who A-isitcd the scene with the 'witness TTaAVken shortly after the accident had occurred, gave evidence that he had measured skid marks CA-idently made bv the service car, which led for 4'2 feet to the point of the impact. Evidence of skid marks ivas also gh-en by Constable Mullan, who also stated that on the left-hand side at a point 45 yards above the scene of the accident the latter spot AA-as visible.

CIHARG ES. .DISMISSED. Mr Cohen opened the defence, with a lengthy address and called Kenneth Hokiaway a service car driver who went' to the spot about half ail hour after the accident and assisted Lamb to separate the cars. Witness denied that when he reached there skid marks showed for 40 feet or over along the track taken by Lamb’s car. The marks visible extended for a car’s length—about Id feet —-only. The cars were looked together almost parallel with the. roadway as if a head-on collision had occurred. This was corroborated by Herbert Collier, residing at Wanganui,, who while driving to Hawera had arrived on the scene of the accident a few moments after .it aeenrred. He did not, however, make any inspection for marks. From the appearance, of the cars it seemed that both had been travelling slowly. The contention of defendant Lamb was that lie was travelling at about lo miles an hour only and rounded bend on the 1 left of tlio road centre line. 'When he. first saw Haw ken’s car it was about a chain distant in the middle of the road and further away than the horse. Witness expected that Hawken would' pull in behind the horse to allow witness to pass, hut Hawken s car veered to its right to pass the horse. 'Witness used his brakes when lie saw a collision was imminent and at the point of iimpact his speed was down to throe or four miles an hour. 'Witness denied that skid marks reaching for 40 feet and being only six feet from the bank at the apex of the bend could have been made by his car. The only marks left by his oar before the bump occurred extended tor about a cars length from the point at which lie had applied In is brakes. There were other marks made .subsequently by his car wlhmi it was being backed to free of if.awken’s car which was pulled the other way by the car driven by Holdaway. A considerable number of cars were on the scene within a short time of the accident. One of these may have been .responsible for the long skid marks mentioned in the police evidence. . Corroborative evidence was given by Waller George Billows, resident of Wanganui, who had been seated alongside, the driver Lamb when the accident took place. Witness also stated that immediately the bump had occurred he had had a conversation with .Mr Hawken who had said: “I am entirely to blame. ’ ’ , . , , . In earlier evidence thus had been contradicted bv the witness Hawken who admitted, however, that ho had said lie was on the wrong side of the road. Reviewing the evidence the Magistrate intimated that the onus of proof had not been fulfilled on any of the three charges though a strong case had been presented to the charge of failing to keep to the left of the road centre. While it had at first appeared on the

police evidence that this charge must he upheld l the evidence adduced, for Hie defence, particularly with reference to the presence on the scene of a number of other ears within a short time of the accident and before the wheel marks mentioned were noted, raised doubts, the benefit of which must be given to defendant. The information on each of the three charges were dismissed.