WELLINGTON TRAMWAY FATALITY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIV, Issue 13482, 8 May 1907, Page 8

WELLINGTON TRAMWAY FATALITY.

FURTHER -EVIDENCE TAKEN. v [BY - TELEGBAPH. — ASSOCIATION.] :•/';':.■ .■;'. Wellington, Tuesday.,. At the continued inquest on the. victims of the Brooklyn tramway, accident' George Ernest James, traffic superintendent; said he considered the car of the type in question safer for taking curves than a smaller car.' He had; formed no theory about the cause of the accident. He ; did not .think the .'•signal lights had any bearing on it. Rea ,* the motorman, might: have,; been on duty for nine hours, with 'two spells.' The speed' limit on : the Brooklyn line •■ was -7£ miles an hour, ilf the 'inotorman' was lata he was asked for an explanation, but not fined. Rea was running a special' car, which had to fit in with. the ordinary cars! Reliable men wero picked for this special service.',:. Ho -believed" Rea was a cool and steady man. . , .__ • t Richard Elliott, a passenger; by the ; car, said he saw the motorman putting on the hand 'brake,: but did not know, about! the other, brakes. '; Witness knew some time before the accident that the : car was beyond control. ' He believed that .from the commencement of the journey the motor: man handled the brakes properly. The inquiry was here adjourned ; for lunch. . Arthur. Smith,': one of ;the passengers,, said ho believed Elliott's evidence was correct. ;He could not pay whether there had been any skidding. He had nothing to suggest, as to the cause of the accident; The motorman. was doing all =he could. i '' : Louis Weber said that he was in charge of a car which met, Rea's about 50 yards on the city side of Seagar's loop. Rea, backed up to the loop. Witness 1 massed, and did not see Rea again. He ad never known either the : magnetic or hand 1 brake to fail. : He had no prejudice against Palace cars like No. 55, \ and he knew of no general prejudice against them. The inquiry was adjourned, till a quarter past two p.m. on Friday.