ACCIDENTS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume LXI, Issue 7225, 26 April 1884, Page 3

ACCIDENTS.

A rather serious accident happened to Mr C. Walton, storekeeper, Linwood, yesterday. He was driving a waggon on the Drain road, when the horses, which were young and fiery, bolted. The waggon was completely wrecked, and Mr Walton, who was violently thrown out, was badly injured about the head and body. Dr Guthrie, who attended the sufferer, could not estimate the injuries last night. A valuable horse, the property of Dr H. H. Chapman, of Southbridge,v after being liberated in a paddock, broke its leg by some unaccountable means, and had to be destroyed immediately. On Wednesday evening a party, in returning from the Rakaia islands, narrowly escaped a serious accident. The king-bolt from Mr Robinson's buggy came out, and both the driver and Mr Oxly were thrown out, but fortunately escaped with a shaking and a few bruises. Thanks to tho assistance of their friends, they were able to patch up with wire, and return with but little delay. j Strange to say, an accident of exactly tho same kind happened to Messrs Osborne and Harrison the next day on the same road, both occupants luckily escaping with a shaking and a tramp after the horse and fore-part of tho buggy. An unfortunate accident happened to Mrs James Alexander, at Lakeside, Southbridge, on Thursday afternoon. It appears that she was carrying two buckets of milk from tho yard to the dairy when she slipped and broke her leg.. Dr Malone was atonee called in and attended the patient, who, wo are happy to say, is m a T„Xn r«.,vr affod 2 years and 10 months, IZZiwn Colombo road north, died from thoSt ß ,itis supposed, of having been run over by a vehicle. It appears that tho o\Md was brought to Dr Mickle's surgery bvite mother who stated that it had gone out to playafterdinnor, and had beonfound lymg insensible on the road. Its head was a good deal swollen, and it never recovered

consciousness, but died about two hours after being taken to Dr Mickle.

THE INQPBST. An inquest on the body of Ann Jane Carr was hold at 4 p.m. yesterday, at the Caledonian Hotel. Dr Coward (Coroner) presided, and Mr W. F. Beatson was chosen ioreinan of the jury. Aftor the jury had viewed the body, the, following evidence was taken :

Sarah Elizabeth Carr, mother of the deceased, deposed: About halt-past 3 yesterday afternoon I was in my house and the children were playing outside. My little boy Jesse came in and said that Annie was lying dead on the road. I wont out and fetched her in. She was insensible, and did not sigh or move. I applied cold water to her face and head, and I heard her breathe twice. I noticed a graze on both sides of her head, which was very much swollen. I afterwards put her feet in hot mustard and water, but that did not bring her to. I then took her to Dr Mickle's house. The deceased had been out of my house for scarcely 10 minutes when Jesso told mo she was dead. A little girl, seven years old, went out to play with her, but she did not see anything. To Inspector Pender: The child was subject to fits. It is three or four months since she had one. She used sometimes to have two or three a week, and sometimes a month or more would elapse between the fits. To a Juror : The deceased was lying on the road, where the wheols would be likely to go. Elizabeth Kerr: Yesterday afternoon I was called in to see the deceased after she was picked up. I saw a cart pass about 15 or 20 minutes before. That is all I know of the matter. The Coroner did not think it necessary to take this witness' evidence. Joseph George Parker: I am driver for Mr Whitfield, baker.' I do not know anything about the death of the child except whatl have been told. I drove past the place where the child was picked up about 20 minutes to 4 yesterday afternoon. I saw no child about there at the time. To Inspector Pender: I do not know where the deceased child lived. I was going towards town when I drove past where it was found. I stopped at my father's house, which is near that spot, in order to get a drink, as I am in the habit of doing. I did not see any other carts about at the time. I saw a man looking over the fence of the Chinaman's garden, which is near. I am quite sure that I did not knock down or child when I drove past. *"

Dr A. F.' J. Mickle stated: Between 4 and 5 o'clock last evening the mother of the deceased child brought it to my house. It was then unconscious, and was breathing very slowly and heavily. It was in fact in a state of collapse. The head was very much swollen. The swelling extended over the eyes, so that it was impossible to open them. There were abrasions of the skin on the left ear and temple, and another on the forehead and right temple. The frontal bone was quite loose, the sutures in the forehead being apparently separated. . I asked Dr Deamer to assist me, as the case was a serious one. "We did all that was possible, but the child died about G' o'clock at my house. I made a post mortem examination of the body today. On dividing the scalp I found large clots of blood between the skin and the bone. These were most marked on the front and top of the head, and behind the right ear. On removing these clots I saw the brain protruding at the sutures. On opening the skull I found a large clot of blood on the brain itself, and another between the anterior lobes of the brain. I did not make any further examination. I attribute death to the injury to the brain, which had been produced by some external violence. I do not think that a fit could have had anything to do with causing the child's death, unless it caused her to fall on the road, where some vehicle passed over her. • To Inspector Pender : The injuries were such as would have been caused by the wheel of a cart passing over the child's head as it Lay on the stones of' the road. They could not have been produced by a fall. Inspector'Pender said that this was all the evidence the police had been able to collect, as the matter had only been reported to them after 10 that morning. It appeared that there had been another cart in the neighbourhood about the time of the occurrence, but the driver was at present up country. Did the Coroner think it a case for an adjournment ? The Coroner : Tes, if you like. A discussion arose between the Coroner and some of the jurors as to whether the injuries could have been caused by a fall or not. Mrs Can-, re-called, said that the child used to lie quite still when in its fits, and did not knock itself about at all. It was lying on its side when she picked it up, just beside the wheel track. Inspector Pender said that it would be as well to have the matter cleared up. The Coroner agreed, and adjourned the inquest to 4 p.m. on Monday next.