MOTOR FATALITY AT BUCKLEY.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 20 December 1926, Page 5

MOTOR FATALITY AT BUCKLEY.

CAE. GOES OVER BANK. A motor accident occurred on Saturday afternoon about 4.30 p.m. just below the junction of the Buckley road and the main roakl to Levin, resulting in the death of a man supposed to b ; Roy Bloomfield, of Haweva. The driver of "the car was Joseph Patrick Lavin, business agent, who resides at Lyall Bay, Wellington, and he was proceeding south. Passing through Shannon he gave a lift to Bloomfield. Just after the car passed the corner mentioned, :inether car approached from the oppo site direction, the cars meeting at the bend. To avoid a collision Lavin, who was on his 1-ft side, pulled over as far as '•'ossible, with the result that the car went over the bank and after turning over several times landed at the bottom, a distance of about 25 feet. _ Both men went over with the car. Lavin was able to extricate himself from the wreckage. On looking for his passenger he found him Iving under the car in a drain. As be was unable to remove him he held the unfortunate man’s head up out of the water until assistance arrived, which came almost at once. Dr. Bell arrived shortly afterwards, but all he could do was to pronounce life to be extinct, the victim having sustained a fractured skull and other injuries. Lavin escaped with scratches cn his face and head and a number of bruises about the body. The car was badly damaged. An inquest was opened at Shannon on Sunday afternoon by Mr Fraser, district coroner, when the evidence of Dr. Bell was taken, afterwards being adjourned until Thursday, December 23, at 2.30 p.m. The unfortunate man is supposed to be Roy Victor Bloomfield, 26 years of age. of Hawera, and a son of Mr W. Bloomfield,, retired farmer, of Matamata. The description given by his unde, Mr H. W. Seed, of IlaAvera, tallies exactly with that of the victim. Relative., were expected in Shannon to-day when it was expected the identification will be verified. He had been stopping with his uncle at Hawera, but left there on December 10th for Shannon, in Iseaich of employment.