MOTOR-BICYCLE TRAGEDY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume XLIII, Issue 1717, 7 January 1920, Page 6

MOTOR-BICYCLE TRAGEDY.

DEATH OF .NORMAN .GILLIES,

INQUEST CONTINUED.

At Feildiug yesterday morning the coroner (Mr Gooilbetioi'':) continued the inquest on the death of Air Norman Gillies, who rvas thrown from his motor-bicycle near Sundon, on Now Year’s Day, and click! from inj> i• received. Sergeant Cahill conducted, ih,* case for the police. Andrew N. Roberts, eon of Air F. J.

Roberts, of Pohahgina, said-that he was driving his fathers car homo from the Alarton races on New Year’s Day. Gillies passed their car on the 'Fcilding side of Sandoa on his mo’ jr-c.ycle, and should say he was travelling about 40 miles an hour. Witness (saw.. Jiiuj r gain about a mile further' on; when Gillie, was lying quite unconscious on the roadside. The bicycle was lying just ahead of him. Ho had a wound on 'the side of his head. AVitncss brought Gillies into Fcilding'in the car, but he died, on the way in. Fred. Pirahi, journalist, said he used to know the deceased M’lien the latter was a boy. At 5.30 on January Iho saw Gillies passing through Bulls in the direction of the bridge on a motor-bicycle at over 40 miles an hour. Ton minutes later witness caught up to Gillies, who had been held up by a lino, of motor-cars on. the bridge. Witness spoke to Gillies, and suggested that there was plenty of room/ for him to walk past the cars with his bicvclo and thus got ahead of the ears. Ho" laughed, and said he would soon pass •all the cars when ho got on to the road. Ho was quite calm and collected and rational. Ho was then on the wrong side of the road, and waited to come behind witness’s car, so as to get on the right side as the car moved oil. As witness got on the road past the bridge, • Gillies whizzed past at a tremendous pace —between 40 and 50 miles. Ah°>n 10 minutes afterwards witness saw Mr Kol»erts/senr., and another person lifting Lillies ollf the road and putting him m a motor car. Someone picked up the bicycle from the roadside. Lillies head was smothered in hlood.'aml lie was quite unconscious. Mr Roberts held deceased or. bis knee all the way into ke.ld .ig. The speed at which Gillies was travelling was dangerous under the conditions. 1 here were 15 or 20 motor-cars On the road, anil the bicvcle would have to take the roadside The centre of the road was good, but there was loose gravel on the side. The coroner thanked Air Roberts,- sem., for the services be rendered in this case Coralio VE. Matthews, daughter-of Ah Henry Matthews, of Mount Stewart, said, sin* was on the Sundoh-Awnliun roi\den New Year’s Day. driving U dogcart at 0.00 o’clock. GiMios pnsswl ■ her on tins at e-reat speed, .on ins right side. Wln u bo was 200 or 30C yards past, witness/saw a big cloud of dust ahead of uer. W )um it had cleared, she saw. Gillies lying outlie mod- ' side. Before witness reached the spot a motor ear passed her, pulled up. and will to the help of the man on the road ami had him in the car before she readied the spot. 'She could see that he Was badly injured. There was no vehicle of any kind near Gillies when the accident happened, and there was no obstruction whatever on the road. There was dust and loose gravel on the side of the road. . Constable Anderson gave evidence regarding the condition of the body. He visited inch examined the Scene of tin: 1 /cement, vhcre there 'wiis evidence of deceased .laving bled profusely. There was a very „vero wound over the left temple, and the kull was fractured. CORONER’S VERDICT AND COM A IF, NTS.

The Coroner returned a ‘verdict to tilo feet that Norman Gillies had met his death y accident, ilirougli a fractured skad, msed by being thrown off his motor icydo when travelling at a high- rate of peed on the side of S.indon road. Mr Gooclbehere added a comment ■'conerning the lack of accommodation in Feiklng for the IkhKos of victims of accidents md tragedies. In the case just heard, the i'ociv had to he placed over night on the loor in an open s!wd. TTic surroundings .vere.not nice either lor the police or for the "datives of the deceased. Some place •honld be provided by the-Borough Council. V building. If by Bft. would meet the ai.°*. so long ;;s, e contained a tabic and a washing basic, c;c.. fet laying out and washing a corpse. Uv rsind to add that ho police had done everything possible in he sgd case of Norman Gillies.