FATAL MOTOR CRASH.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19698, 26 July 1927, Page 11

FATAL MOTOR CRASH.

PEERESS LOSES HER LIFE.

HUSBAND SERIOUSLY INJURED.

VIOLENT COLLISION WITH BUS.

Lady Oranmore and Browne was killed and Lord Oranmore and Browne was seriously injured in a motor accident on the main road between Tonbridge and Tunbridge Wells on June 7. They were being driven in a largo car, in which they had left Mereworth Castle, Kent, in the morning, accompanied by a lady's maid and their head gardener. The car had just passed the Hand and Sceptre Hotel, at Southborough, when the accident occurred. Just beyond the hotel tho road declines in the direction of Bidborough Corner, where half the road was up for repair. The chauffeur was approaching the "road-up" barrier, when he suddenly caught sight of a motor-bus coming from the direction of Tonbridge, along the half road which was available for traffic. He applied his brakes, but the car skidded, and he was unable to avoid a violent collision with the on-coming omnibus. Car Completely Wrecked. Lord Oranmore and Browne's car overturned and was completely wrecked, and Lady Oranmore and Browne was in a dying condition when she was extricated. She died within 10 minutes. Lord Oranmore and Browne was severely injured about the ribs and was taken to the nearest hospital, but was afterwards removed to his home. The maid was detained in the hospital, but afterwards sent home. The chauffeur was conveyed to the hospital. Ho lost a considerable amount of blood, and his condition is critical. The gardener escaped with minor cuts and bruises. Several passengers in the bus suffered injuries. A passenger said the impact was terrific, and made the rear of the car look like a jumble of twisted iron, smashed wood and broken glass. The rear wheel of the car was broken off at the hub, all the spokes wore smashed and twisted, the brake drums were split in several places, and the near side mudguard was reduced to the shape of a concertina. A black Pomeranian dog, the property of Lady Oranmore and Browne, was in the car. After the collision, the leash was found in a pool of blood, but tho animal could not be discovered anywhere. The tragedy was followed by two other accidents due to the traffic jam caused by the wrecked cars. A car containing a honeymoon couple came suddenly on the scene from the direction of Southborough and had to pull up so suddenly that it skidded.and turned completely in the opposite direction, narrowly escaping a spill. A few seconds later another car skidded several yards and came in collision with a two-seater car, the occupant of which had pulled up and alighted to assist Lord Oranmore and Browne's party. A Charming Personality.

Lady Or?inmore and Browne was, before her marriage, Lady Olwen Verena Ponsonby. She was the eldest daughter of the eighth earl of Bessborough and sister of the present earl. She was in her* 51st year. The. Ponsonby family trace their descent from a Sir John Ponsonby, of Hale, Cumberland, who was colonel of a regiment of horse in the service of Cromwell. and who, settling in Ireland, became Sheriff of the Counties of Wicklow and Kilkenny. His son was created Baron Bessborough in the Peerage of Ireland in 1721 and afterwards Viscount Duncannon, while his grandson became Earl of Bessborough in 1739. Lady Oranmore and Browne did some excellent hospital work during the war, and placed her Irish residence at the disposal of the Red Cross authorities. In recognition of her services she was made a Lady of Grace of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem. She was a woman of charming personality, and was liked and respected by flll who knew her. The motoring accident which has resulted in her death is not the only one she had sustained. A few years ago she had a narrow escape when motorinp in Ireland. Her car skidded into a ditch, and she was thrown into the road.