TRAM'S WILD CAREER.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19412, 21 August 1926, Page 10

TRAM'S WILD CAREER.

CRASH INTO A FENCE. CAR REDUCED TO WRECK. MIRACULOUS ESCAPES. MOTORMAN FALLS OFF. SEVERE INJURY SUSTAINED The falling-off of a motorman and the subsequent loss of control of a tramcar travelling down Symonds Street resulted in a- sensational accident shortly before five o'clock last evening. With a crash of splintering glass, the runaway tram jumped the points at the intersection of Weilesley Street and Symonds Street, hurled itself diagonally across the road, carrying away a tree at the edge of the pavement, and then, with a grinding sound, finished its mad career, almost a total, wreck, by smashing through the garden fence of a house two doors from the corner. Luckily the injured list was a light one, and for this the facts that the car was practically empty and that, traffic at the time was exceptionally light must be held mainly. responsible. . The motorman, Mr. < J. Philpott, had fainted and fallen off, and he was picked up some distance up the road by a motorist and conveyed to the hospital. Here it was found that he had sustained a fracture ■to tho base of the skull. His condition last evening was reported' to be somewhat'serious. Only Two Passengers.

The crash. itself -was attended- by . very few casualties. The force of the impact hurled the conductor, Mr. C. Boyce, who was standing on the back platform, through the car, and he received a cut over, the eye, and. minor injuries to his hands and legs. The only - passengers were a boy and a man. The. boy received slight cuts, and the man escaped uninjured, both vanishing from the scene before the inquisitive crowd collected. The circumstances which led up to the falling-off of the motorman, Mr. Philpott, are, not definitely known. For the past few days he has not been in the best of health, .and it is believed that he fainted shortly after a lady passenger had; alighted from the car at: City Road. It could not be definitely ascertained: where he was picked' up, but it was some considerable distance from the scene of the accident.: \ The injured man lives >at Bawhiti Road, Ellerslie. He is married.

As the trams, generally travel down the Symonds Street. hill at" a fairly good speed, the conductor, standing. ,on.. the rear- platform, noticed nothing, amiss ''All was' perfectly normal,", said Mr., Boyce, '.'until: the car was approaching theiniter6ection. I could then feel it gathering speed, and I wondered what was the matter. The car was getting.out of control. , • . ; Tenibla Experience. next thing I knew ' she had juihped' the t©UVybtf f it i; was ! a terrible experience. The car seemed to leap into-the air and then-rocket across the road, swaying horribly. I had to' hang. on . with all my strength to avoid being, hurled off. .1 was -still -hanging on when we struck the tree. It gave like matchwood, b'ut the ? force 'was • so*, groat that, even though I was hanging on, I. was flung through the open doorway, right into the .middle of the car, picking up my injuries on the way." Mr. Boyce said : that he knew nothing at all of the motorman falling off. If. he had, he. could have' hauled down the trolley l pole 'and applied the hand brake. The;car.ia'one of a fairly old typo. "It was not fitted with the safety apparatus that brings the. car. to a standstill wheniever the motorman f s hand is removed frbm the controls. Motorists' Narrow Escape. Although the road was exceptionally clear of a collision which would have ended in a tragedy was narrowly averted.. A motor-car owned by Mr. M. Foley and . driven by his daughter was proceeding' up Wellesley Street with.Mr. Foley and another daughter as passengers. Just as Miss Foley was preparing to turn the car into Symonds Street, the runaway tram flew past. She jammed on the brakes, and it appeared to the occupants of the car that they had missed death by. a matter of a few yards.

"It was a narrow escape,'' said Mr. Foley. " I should say that the car was travelling at about 50 miles an hour. It Jumped the points, with a horrible grinding sound and struck the tree in a cloud of. dust. Tho car was travelling so fast that we could not see if there were any passengers." , : Others who witnessed the accident, included a small boy, who said!that the car seemed to lurch forward at a terrific speed as it tteared the points. ' A young lady who had been standing opposite to St. Paul's Church said that the sound of the crash was sickening. The tram seemed to throw itself at the fence. After the accident the scene was one to beggar description. There were deep scars in the concrete where the car had left the rails, and a tree stump, about two feet in height, was another mark of its terrific final rush. Still further evidence lay in the stats of the car itself, and the presence of the tree trunk, hurled some 20 or 30yds. from the splintered stump. Damage Done to Car. It was difficult to imagine the car as once haying„ been. used to carry passengers. In the front compartment the force of the impact with tree and fence had smashed the seats and flooring, while the front portion where the driver Had been standing was like so much criished matchwood. The body of the car was literally bent, and the massive bogies which bear the body were all twisted out oi position. 14 was a lucky thing that the car struck the tree. The impact reduced the momentum somewhat and if it had not, it is just possible that the car might have crashed right through the fence and into the house. The lady who owns the bouse was in the front garden a few minutes before the accident.

The accident caused no blockage in the traffic. The car had cleared the rails entirely, and there, was a . free tram route right up Symonds Btreet. The crowd that- collected round the scene of the accident caused some minor obstruction to motor-car traffio, -but this was_deast with efficiently by officials of the - City Council traffic department. ; .