PINNED UNDER TRAM.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20331, 12 August 1929, Page 10

PINNED UNDER TRAM.

WOMAN GRAVELY INJURED.

DELAY IN LIFTING VEHICLE. JACKS NOT KEPT ON TRAMS. Pinned beneath a tramcar, under which she had fallen, an elderly woman, Mrs. A. Beamnrd, who is a. visitor to Auckland, suffered great agony for twelve minutes in Queen Street 011 Saturday before she could be extricated. A largo crowd stood helplessly by whilo jacks were being procured to raise the tram from the lines. Mrs. Beamnrd is now in the Auckland Hospital in a critical condition. She sustained a compound fracture of the right leg and suffered severely from shock. She is on a visit to New Zealand from England and arrived from Kotorua last Monday. A sister, Mrs. Jones, lives at Kairanga, Palmerslon North.

The accident occurred at 12.4 p.m., when Queen Street was crowded. Mrs. Beamard was crossing the street just above the Victoria Street intersection. When she was half-way across and standing between the two sets of rails, sho was evidently bumped by an inward-bound tram and was thrown immediately in front of an outward-bound tram. Tho motorman quickly applied the brakes but the woman "was already pinned between tho front wheel and the undercarriage. As jacks arc not carried on Iho trams ono man was despatched to tho Wellesloy Slrcet intersection and another to the Customs Street comer, where those appliances are kept, with the result that some littlo time elapsed before the tram could be lifted. Tramway officials say that twelve minutes intervened. During this time a crowd gathered and a long string of trams and motor-cars was held up. Dr. W. S. Brockway attended the woman beforo sho was taken to tho Auckland Hospital in an ambulance. Tho desirability of every tram carrying a jack to meet emergencies of tho kind that occurred 011 Saturday has been discussed on numerous occasions by the now defunct Tramways Committee of tho City Council, but the suggestion has rot met with general favour. Officials of the Transport Board etate that stations where jacks aro kept ready for uso arc situated at half-mile intervals along every tram route. They are all registered, and a list, showing their exact locations, is posted in the motorman's compartment of every tramtar, whore officials and members of the public can examine them in cases of emergency. This arrangement, it is maintained, works well and does away with the inconvenienco of finding room on the trams for an awkward and heavy piece of gear. No time was wasted on Saturday, officials added, in obtaining tho jacks and bringing them into action.