TRAGEDY AT CROSSING

Manawatu Standard, Volume L, Issue 146, 20 May 1930, Page 6

TRAGEDY AT CROSSING

DRIVER MEETS DEATH. AIISSING CAR’S CRASH. Alistaking the road and double somersaulting in the car which ho was driving, AV'illiam Stafford Anderson, whose passport indicated that lie was an engineer, of Canada, met his death in a motor smash at the Taonui crossing, near Feilding, last evening. His dead body was brought into the Palmerston North Hospital by another motorist. It transpired that he had been fatally injured when driving a blue sedan car. The description of the vehicle was identical with that of a car parked by Air F. S. Goldingham in King Street, yesterday afternoon, and which at 6 ii.in. was found to have disappeared. Mr Goldingham has identified the car wrecked near Feilding as his property. From the information available, it appears that shortly after 6 p.m. yesterday a man giving the name of Bryce called at the Bunnythorpe Hotel. Obviously a stranger, he stated that ho was proceeding to the Tonganro National Park to pick up his mother, but as lie was unacquainted with the district, he had made up liis mind to spend the night at the hotel. A\ hen he heard that two waitresses, Alisses C. Casey and AI. O’Eeiliy, intended proceeding to the pictures at I ending, ne offered to convey them there in a sedan ear he was driving, and the offer was accepted. Disaster for tlie party was the sequel. AIISTAKE COSTS LIFE. Unaware that the road proper takes almost a right angle turn across the railway line at the point of the iaoiiui crossing, the driver made a mistake which cost him liis life. Continuing straight on, the car, entered a bad stretch and crashed into the county boundary sign, somersaulting twice, according to reports, and finishing on its wheels facing the direction from which it had come. Crawling clear, the two girl passengers found the driver lying on the road, and lie was evidently badly injured. Dazed, bruised and cut, they stopped a car which came along shortly afterwards, and were taken to Air Neil Bailey’s residence on the main road Feilding was communicated with and a doctor proceeded to the scene of tho accident where he found Anderson suffering from severe head injuires- AA’ith teh arrival of a motorist returning from a camping tour, the victim of the smash was conveyed to the Palmerston North Hospital in the trailer, without waiting for the ambulance. Unconscious when he was picked up, the car driver was beyond human help when he arrived at tlie Hospital. Both the girls received medical attention for cuts and severe bruises. GRIAI COINCIDENCE. Subsequently, Air F. S. Goldingham made an inspection of tlie damaged car, which he found to be his property. He stated that there must have been a terrific impact, as the five by five totara post which tlie car had struck was snapped in half. He estimated the damage to tlie car at £2OO. There has been a grim coincidence in the tragedy which occurred last night, for a man met his death under somewhat similar circumstances when driving a car wliieh he had converted to his use without Air Goldinghani’s authority about ten years ago. On that occasion the car was dragged out of the water in the Manawatu Gorge. It is understood that the victim of last night’s accident was observed driving up Cuba Street yesterday on the wrong side of the road. That was held accountable for the fact that he was a Canadian and was accustomed to different traffic by-laws.