INJURY TO CYCLIST.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20982, 19 September 1931, Page 14

INJURY TO CYCLIST.

EARLY MORNING COLLISION. CHARGE OF NEGLIGENCE. CAR DRIVER SENT FOR TRIAL. Aii accident which occurred on Decem- | ber 29. 1929, led to a resident of Cleve- | don, James Paton, aged 29 (Mr. S. D. Rice), being charged before Messrs. T. F. Snell and John McCall, J.P.'s, in the Papakura Police Court yesterday with negligent driving, causing injury. He pleaded not guilty, reserved his defence, and was committed to the Auckland Supreme Court for trial. The charge arose out of a collision between a car and a motor-cycle, as a result of which the rider of the cycle, Arthur James Munro, of Clevedon South, had his right leg broken. In evidence. Munro stated that with his brother, George, he arrived at Papakura by the last train from Auckland shortly after midnight on the date mentioned. They started out of Papakura for Clevedon about 1 a.m. on motorcycles and were proceeding along Wairoa Road when a car approached from the opposite direction. It passed only a very few feet from his brother, who was riding about a chain ahead of him. Both cycles were on the correct side of the road Thrown off Cyclo by Impact. | Witness said he drew right over to the edge of the metal, but, when the car was ; about four yards away, it suddenly swerved and a front wheel or the bumper struck him and fractured his right leg. 110 was thrown off his machine on to the grass at the side of the road. The cycle came to rest across his loft leg. After the car hit him the driver slackened his pace, said witness, but then accelerated. Witness sat, up to try to read the number of the car, but its lights went out just after the driver started to accelerate. They were switched on again about a quarter-mile farther along the road. A little later accused's car came along from the direction of Papakura. He did not see who was driving it. Accused was in it and there were j several other men with him. Witness was taken to Dr. Page at Papakura, and later to the Auckland Hospital in the car, accused driving. Ho was under treatment in the hospital till the following March. Corroborative evidence was given by George Munro, brother of the previous witness. Dent in Hub of a Front Wheel. William Dawe, of Clevedon, said ho accompanied the three Paton brothers, his son and three other men to Papakura on the night of the accident. James Paton drove the car. As they were approaching Papakura witness heard a motor-cycle pass. Almost immediately afterwards he heard a sound as of a stone hitting a wheel. William Paton said: " What was that? Did you hit him! Tf you did, pull up!" Accused slackened, speed, but then speeded tip again. At Papakura witness and the others alighted and found a dent in the hub of one of the front wheels. They decided to go back to i see if anything untoward had happened, j They found Arthur Munro injured. Condition of Men in Car. Sergeant Cowan: Were all the occui pants of the car sober? Witness: There were one or two who j might have been a little merry. I would ; not say they were intoxicated. I Accused was sober, was he?—As far ! as I could see there was nothing wrong with him. i Similar evidence was given by Norman 1 Alexander, of Clevedon, who was also in the car. He said he heard someone suggest after the dent in the hub was discovered that they should say nothing about the occurrence. Others agreed. Skid in Loose Metal Alleged. In a statement produced in Court by Constable Holland, of Papakura, accused said his car was travelling on its correct side of the road, but skidded in loose metal. Ho thought it merely grazed the motor-cvclo. To Mr. Rice:. The morning after the j accident the road <vas covered in a patchy i manner with loose metal, except in the 1 wheel tracks, which were fairly clear. > Witness searched particularly for skid I marks, but found none. That was about | 10 hours after the collision and there had ! been a good deal of traffic over the road j in the meanwhile. I Bail was granted accused in his own I recocnisanee of £IOO and one surety of | £IOO.