THE MOERA FATALITY.

Hutt News, Volume 3, Issue 23, 30 October 1930, Page 5

THE MOERA FATALITY.

An inquest into the death of Thomas David Allanson, aged 14, who .was killed on the morning of 27th Septomlber through touching a guy wire from a post near the White's Line ramp, Woburn, was hold at Lower Butt last week before the Coroner (Mr. J. S. ■Barton, S.M.). Sergeant J. W. McHplm conducted the inquiry, Mr. C. c J. O'■Rogan, appeared for the relatives of the boy> Mr. t>. K. Haggard for the Hutt Valley Electric Power Board, Mr P. !B. Coo^e for the State Fire and Accident Office, and Mr. J. Webster, telegraph engineer, for the Post and Telgrapeh Depai'.tment.

TH: B. J. Dudley, to whose surgeTy the deceased was taken after the aeci- '■ drcnt, stated that there was no douibt ' that the (boy had been dead for some time when, he arrived at surgery. On the left hand were undoubted burns, such as would be causpd by a live wire, 4n(l on the right hand were smears of what was apparently an insulating material.: All the marks were consistent with death by electrocution.

Evidence of identification was given by George Allanson, father of the. deceased; . He said that there was a beaten path where the accident occurred.

Henrietta C.J\vdd, a married woman of. White's Line, who was walking over the ranip just before the accident, said that she saw the boy Tunning along^^ the side of the ramp towards the Prince Edward Theatre. Be put out his right hand and touched a black insula'tdd wire. Witness saw a flash on the w;re a little further on from where he touch ed it. The boy screamed and fell backwards. Witness told a passing man about it, and ;swithin a few minutes he had taken. the boy away in a. car. .

- In reply to questions witness said that the point •-where, the boy touched the wire was just nigii enough for him to reach.. It was a sloping wire, running from,' a post, to which it .was attached aiboTit a foot aflbove the ground to a higher post. She. saw only one -yvire—the insulated one that the boytouched. The -path th<> bo^ was junning along:was well used by foot trafQe as a short-euty . ;

/ To Mr. Cobke, witness said tthat the idis'tance of the .flash, froia the boy was ■fbetiween 4J and 9ft. "

Another .witness of the accident from the/ ramp, Thclma, R. Phillips, of Parliament Street, Lt>wei\Hutt, who was

walking ..with the .previous witness said 1 that she^ did not see tlie boy until he had hold of t«he wire. He appeared to 1 be betjween two wirea,*.with^a hand Vow ; each. He was about fifteen feet :tiw&y I from her. Sho saw tho wiio in his

ri^kt h.imd sv»iug, and a iiamc ran down it. The boy groaned and fell to the ground. WTien she first saw the •boy he was standing still, holding the Vires a little above the height of his head.

To questions from the police" and the Coroner, witness replied that when the boy fell to the ground lie lay quite still. The wire w&ich the boy touched with hi? right hand was. thicker than tho other. It ran from the top of one pole to the bottom of another.

Charles E. Bentley, laiboivrer, of William Street, Petone, who was driving a motor-van over the ramp, and was stopped and told of the accident, said that •he and another man brought the boy to | the van and took him to the doctor. They had to get down on. their hands and knees td get tlie boy from under the wirep. One was galvanised and one ■waa insiulated. The*"boy-.'gasped when they first lifted him but made no sound after that. : .

Ernest Delaney, of Tawa Street, Wo* burn, Jines foreman of the Hutt Valley Electric P<W£er\ Board,. wiho removed the wires immediately afitpr the a«eident, said that the in'sulatod wire ran from one pole aibout two feet from the bott-bnij up to the top of another about two chains away near the. treatre'. It was bare at the top and attached to a cross-arm of the pole, between two or three feeder wires carrying 11,000 volts A cross-arm below carried 6000 volts on one side of the pale an^i telephone wireis on the other, and a third "cross-arm below tihat carried low tension power and lighting wires. The naked end of the stay wire was about 16 Mnch.es from the nearest 11,000. volt live wire. At this stage Mr. Cooke intimated that ho would ask for an adjournment First, however, he would- like to question the tvwo lady witnesses again. Mr. Oooke: "Did you see the boy after he fell, roll down to the culvert where he was found " Witnessi: "No. He lay quite still' near the culvert." • Mr. Cooke: "Would it be possible for him to -have struck his head on the culvert when he fell?" —"It may have been possible, but I don't £hink, he did." ;.,'.- ; i Mr. Cooke: "You would not be prepared to swear that he did not?"t- '', N*o; I could not say' definitely.'' ! Miss Phillips was recalled. She alls© said that she did not think tihe boy had hit the culvert hard, but she would not be prepared to swear that he did root. ' . Mr. Cooke said that neither Mr. Hpg- - gard nor himself was satisfied about the cause of death. They would like i to call Dr. ,Dt.-dlcy again, and possibly* other witnesses who could ielp to elu-i eidato the matter. . , The Coroner: ' * You are alluding. to: i the possibility of death from a fractured skull and not by eleetroetotion?' ' "Yes, sir." . . The inquest was adjourned until next; Saturday.