BUSES IN COLLISION.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19377, 12 July 1926, Page 10

BUSES IN COLLISION.

NINE PASSENGERS HURT. TWO SENT TO HOSPITAL. BOTH VEHICLES DAMAGED. ACCIDENT AT AVONDALE.; Nine passengers were injured and the sides of two buses were torn out in a collision which occurred on a bend on the Great North Road at Avondale at about 12.40 p.m. -yesterday. Two of the passengers, Mr. M. McKenzio, of Kelson House, New Lynn, and Mr. H. E. Hardley, of 12, West Street, Newton, are in hospital, the former with a fractured right arm and the latter -with head and facial injuries. Mr. Hardley's .condition last evening was reported to be serious. The other passengers who were injured ; were given first- aid treatment at the scene of the accident and in the casualty wg,rd of the hospital, after which they were able to proceed to their homes. The buses were the property of the Progressive Bus Company. One was proceeding from New Lynn to the city and was driven by Mr. Ceorge Bacon. The other vehicle, in which Mr. McKenzie and Mr. Hardley were travelling, was proceeding in the opposite direction and was driven by Mr. Jack Shorter. Head-on Collision Averted. The scene of the accident was the bend in the road between the Avondale Bowling Club's property -and a coalshed occupied by Messrs. Hoyes iand Jeffs. To facilitate negotiation of the corner the road is banked at a fair angle. The footpath lies in a hollow below the road and it is customary for drivers of motorvehicles to'keep to'the centre of the road to avoid the risk of papsizing over the bank. ; "* > Eye-witnesses state that Mr. Shorter stopped a few chains away from the corner, at the Victoria Road crossing, to * allow passengers to alight. His machine was just gathering speed when he approached the corner. Here he met Mr.- Bacon's' bus and a - side-on collision -occurred, prompt action on the part of the drivers narrowly averting a head-oft collision. Visibility at the time was poor, owing to rain. ' ' * " "'' ' "" ji V The forc.e of the impact was such that the' bus sides Which met were torn out, while the crash was heard a considerable distance away. The glass windows of the buses were shattered and it was by .the flying pieces of glass that themajority of the injured passengers • were hurt. Mr. McKenzie was sitting on the damaged side of the bus and his arm - was struck by a piece of wood, causing > the fracture he sustained. Mr. Hardley was struck by the shower of glass and, wood, receiving cuts on the 'head/and about the eyes and . mouth. Damage to the Buses. Dr. B. C. Leeper, who. resides in the •vicinity, gave attention, to the injured passengers and ordered their removal to the Auckland Hospital. Residents of the neighbourhood also assisted in giving first aid. Apart from the two men detained in the hospital, the injuries sustained by the passengers were no more serious than minor cuts, a few bruises and the shock that usually attends such occurrences.' The injured travellers were drawn from both buses. The drivers escaped with small cuts. After-the collision the bus driven byMr. Bacon kept moving until it was pulled up by an electric line pole, which carries both high and low tension wires. Fortunately, the impact was not sufficient to bring down the pole or break th& wires. The damage sustained by both buses will put them out of commission for some time. The damage was evenly distributed over both machines, being confined, chiefly to the body work. The, shattering of. the sides out the seats and ripped the -upholstery. The broken glass * was scattered over the highway and punctures were-Sustained' by several 'motorists before the particles were cleared away.