FATAL BUS ACCIDENT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIV, Issue 19800, 22 November 1927, Page 13

FATAL BUS ACCIDENT.

CRASH. INTO A POST. CONDITION OF THE DRIVER. COMMENT MADE BY CORONER. [BY TELEGRAPH. —PBESB ASSOCIATION.] WELLINGTON, Monday. An inquest was held to-day into the i death of Mrs. Annie Eleanor Watson, a | widow, of Kelburn, who met her death on October 17 as the result of a motorbus driven by John O'Callaghan, leaving the Hutt Road bitumen track and striking a telegraph post. There were 12 passengers, all women, in the bus. The coroner was Mr. W. G. Riddel], S.M. Evidence showed that the bus travelled for 108 ft. between leaving the bitumen track and striking the post, and 48ft. after the impact. Mr. McCourtrie, assistant-chief traffic inspector, said he examined the bus shortly after the accident and took measurements showing the course of the bus after it left the road. It would take seconds at 20 miles an hour for the bus to strike the post after leaving the track. If the driver were in full possession of his faculties, there would be absolutely no reason why he should not bring it back tc its course as soon as it left' tho road. The Coroner: Then the accident vas due either to the act of a madman cr to the loss of faculties ? Witness: Yes. Statement by Driver. Mrs. E. Cousins, a passenger in the bus, said no complaint could be made of the driving The driver neither talked to passengers nor smoked Mrs. M. P. Henderson said that just before the accident the driver stooped to pick up a roll of tickets that had fallen. Her statement, however, went uncorroborated. Pressed under cross-examination to say why she had not made this statement in her original statement to the police on the day of the accident, witness said she considered the incident so important that she thought it should not be spoken of until the properly conducted inquiry, when she would be on oath. She had not even told her husband. The coroner said the witness had given a satisfactory reason. Motor mechanics gave evidence of having examined the bus and found the steering gear in good order. A patrol constable said there were no signs of the brakes having been applied between the time of leaving the bitumen and striking the post. The driver, when spoken to after the accident, was perfectly normal. He said the wheel slipped out of his hand. He did not complain about having had any illness. " No Complaint About Driving." John O'Callaghan, driver of the bus, said he could give no explanation of how the smash occurred. He had held a licence to drive since September, 1926, but in May went to a sanatorium for 10 weeks. He resumed work on October 14, three days before th 6 accident. He would have turns in the head for a second or two, but would not faint. Before the smash he was all right. He did not know that the bus had left the bitumen. Con- ' cerning his head turns a doctor had told him the turns were caused by fluid on the lungs. Witness said his eyesight was good. He never told his employers about his complaint. - Medical evidence was given that on the day in question O'Callaghan was not physically fit to be driving the bus, as ho was subject to turns, which would last for a few seconds. The coroner delivered an open verdict. He said had medical evidence not shown O'Callaghan was subject to turns it looked as if the bus had been negligently driven. The accident was most extraordinary. The coroner found that deceased died as the result of injuries received through a bus in which she was riding, driven by John O'Callaghan, coming into contact with a telegraph polo on the Hutt Road on October 17. The question whether the driver was guilty of negligence could be tested in another place, said the coroner.