LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XVII, Issue 201, 9 August 1927, Page 4

LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT.

LADY MOTORIST'S NARROW ESCAPE. VEHICLE BADLY DAMAGED. A narrow escape from a seriou*, if not fatal, accident occurred on the St. Aunyn street crossing, Hastings, at about 11.30 tnu morning. Mrs A. IV. Beach, of Mahora, was driving a car along St. Aubyn street, irom the east siue, and when she was close to tne rauway crossing near Holt s timber yard, she saw a. goods train coming Horn Napier, but she saw it too lute because, though she clapped ou the brakes and tried to swerve the car, the front wheels got on to the line and impact with the oncoming tram was inevitable. 'The engine, winch was fortunately slowing down iu entering the station, struck the bonnet and the force oi the collision, assisted by the guidance ot Mrs Beach, whose hands never left the wheel, turned the vehicle round in its own tracks and clear ot the rails.

Mrs Beach was the only occupant of the car and, fortunately, beyond the natural shock occasioned by the accident, she was not hurt in the slightest way and she kept her nerve right through. A dog in the car also escaped injury. The bonnet and front wheels of the ear were badly damaged and the engine was somewhat injured but, taking everything into consideration, t,he escape was providential, because Mrs Beach, in order to avoid the shingle on the railway crossing, took her wrong side of the road, that is the side nearer to the advancing train, which only hit the front of her car, whereas, had she kept to her proper side, the engine would probably have struck the car broadside on, with disastrous consequences.