GIG STRUCK BY TRAIN.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20976, 12 September 1931, Page 10

GIG STRUCK BY TRAIN.

NARROW ESCAPE OF TWO MEN HORSE HIT BY THE ENGINE. LEVEL CROSSING ACCIDENT. Two young men had a narrow escape yesterday morning when a horse and gig they were driving was struck by the 8.10 a.m. train from Onehunga to Penrose at the level crossing at Captain Springs Road, Te Papapa. The engine knocked the horse down, inflicting injuries which necessitated the animal being destroyed. By a miracle, the gig remained upright and the driver, Mr. R. Jack, a member of the Epsom staff of Ambury's:, Limited, and his companion, escaped with a few scratches.

The horse, a spirited animal, was being broken in. It baulked as it came to the level crossing and was struck violently nn the head by the approaching train and knocked down. The enginedriver applied the brakes instantly, otherwise the gig would have been overturned and smashed to matchwood. No time was lost in removing the injured animal and the train resumed its journey after only three minutes' delay. The crossing has been the scene- of many accidents and is regarded as particularly dangerous on account of the visibility being obscured by houses and hedges. ''There is a warning notice, but no automatic signalling device. It is one of three level crossings situated at only short distances apart, the others being at Church Street and Mays Road. Two cows were killed by a train at the Mays Road crossing last week.