THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT WAIROA.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5531, 6 November 1879, Page 3

THE FATAL ACCIDENT AT WAIROA.

I The following particulars of the fatal I accident at Wairoa, referred to in a

i telegram in yesterday's issue, are supplied ;by our Correspondent :— A sad accident, I resulting fatally, occurred here on Monday, at t a place called IJf'kawai, on., tho ' road betv^e'M North 1 , .Clyde and To Kapn. . The unfortunate vietinl was a aharp 1 young boy about nine years b'i a^ey rianVed Laurence Middleton, son of a man fififne'd Jcfe IVtiddleton, now cooking at the Ferry Hot^ei, As fcfi* as 1 can gather, it seems iftdt tse toy came down from Te Kapii with his faihei lihe flay prevfou.9 to,oe oe- , currence of the ac6i&&Mi On .Monday ; morping the boy left North Clyde ib retfiiitl fiotne, and when he got as far as D'u'ffs gate> y he rtas overtaken by E. Noble, in the ernpToy of $fayo tfnd Co., who was driving a pair of hofae's' In & h'ox-Catt, containing about 500 feet of saw*ri timfcef Bx4, whioh was to be used in the con- ; strtttJtloti of a Giilvert, on the new KapuWaiiioa rotfd foi'rtlation near the Kikawa. Noble, either of his 6wti free •will, or else at tho reqt/dst of fh'e, boy;, took him Jap into the dray, which by all ft'eebunts was heavily overloaded, and when the dray arrived near where the road party were working, the driver dismounted to examine the pjtfpe he had to bring the dray through, . and .nndirig it . apparently all right, went ahead 1 ,, but ,J?hen turning the dray one of the wheels Came' into' collision with a tussock about 8 inches iiigii, arid the other wheel being already tilted tip about a foot by the slope of the cutting, the vehicle was suddently capsized, the whole weight of the timber and dray coming down' on the boy. Willing hands lifted the drajr ahd its load bodily rip, and the (Sufferer was drawn i out Unconscious. He' \Va"S at once taken' to the tent, and while the dray wa9 bdflg righted mean's were employed to restore co'nsc'iojisne&i, which, seemed to have a good effect; as he I . rallied for a' while. When j the dray was ready the boy wtis placed in it and brought down to North Clyde. Dr Ormond, who was sent for, was quickly in dttehdante, and. pronounced that no bones had be'eh broken.- Stimulants were administered, but without avail, the poor little fellow dying at five o'clock the same evening. An inquest was held at three o'clock on Tuesday at the Riverside Hotel, before Mr E. Baker, R.M., acting coroner, and the following jury : — G. B. Flint (foreman)', T. Parker, G. Rees, .W. Peakman, H. Flint, G. Wilson, G; Mayo,.. J. Carroll, R. Rickard, J. Rickard, tV\ F. Sha#, . Gr. Taylor, afld J. Palmer. A g'c/od deal of evidence" was taken, but none to criminate any .person. The evidence of Dr Ormond, whti performed a post mortem examination of the body, proved the cause of death to have been profuse internal hemmoerrhage, the left kidney and adjacent bowels being ruptured in Beveral places. The jury, after a brief deliberation, returned the following verdict :— " That the deceased, Laurence Middloton, came to his death at . Hikawai, Wairoa, on November 3rd, 1879, through the accidental upsetting of a loaded dray in which he was riding."