CAR DRIVER ON TRIAL.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 21100, 6 February 1932, Page 10

CAR DRIVER ON TRIAL.

SEQUEL TO FATALITY. ALLEGATION OF NEGLIGENCE. CRASH INTO A POLE. JURY FAILS TO AGREE. A charge of negligent driving, causing the death of Theodore Raymond Lewis, of Remuera, manager of Chess Taxis, was preferred against John Ihomas Kite, in the Supreme Court yesterday. A car driven by accused, and in which deceased was travelling, collided with a. telegiaph pole in Remuera Road on December 3, and deceased was fatally injured. Ihe jury failed to agree and a new trial was ordered. Mr. Justice Ilerdman was on the Bench. " There is no suggestion that accused was under the influence of liquor the whole question is whether he was driving too fast," said the Crown Prosecutor, in outlining the case. " Accidents such as these are becoming appallingly frequent and protection must be afforded against the negligent driver." Morris Axford, a house surgeon at the Auckland Hospital, said that Mr. Lewis was admitted early on the evening of December 3 in an unconscious state. He died at four o'clock on the following morning without regaining consciousness. He was suffering from extensive injuries to the body, facial injuries, a facture of the base of the skull and dislocation of the left hip. Death was due to the fracture of j the skull and dislocation of the hip. Tram Conductor's Evidence. Arthur Hemming Curry, tramway con- j ductor, said he was on a tramcar return- | inc from the Remuera terminus at b.6U , p.m., when he was attracted by the roar of a motor-car near the Rulings Eoad stop. The car went past the tram at a very fast rate, travelling from the direction of Newmarket. " It was going at a terrible speed and much faster than a car would ordinarily go," said witness. "It hit the third telegraph pole from Ridings Road. Just before the impact it gave a wobble as thoug i it had hit something. The vehicle struck the pole with such force that it appealed to stand right up on its end. It bounced off the pole and then slewed round on to the outgoing tramlines facing Newmarket." . , . In cross-examination witness said he heard what seemed to be the noise ot tyres squealing on the road. the car appeared to reduce its speed just before it started to wobble and in witness opinion it grazed the second pole. . To the foreman of the jury, witness said he had heard no explosion suggesting the bursting of a tyre. " Terrific Bate of Speed." " The car approached and passed the tramcar at a terrific rate of speed,' saul Thomas Morton Callander, the motorman on the tramcar. " 1 kept my eye on it as 1 fullv expected something to happen owing to the speed the car was going and knowing it had to negotiate the curve. As the car entered the curve, the drivei seemed to apply the brakes and reduce speed and then, almost at- the same time, to increase speed again. I what 1 took for the squealing of brakes.' Witness said that from the other side ot the tramcar he saw the motor-car strike the telegraph pole. It appeared to climb the pole and the back wheels were completely off the ground. When witness and the conductor approached the car after the accident, the driver got out and was staggering. Witness helped to get Mr. Lewis out of the car and went to a house to telephone. He could not do so as the lines were brought down by the car. To counsel for the defence, witness said it seemed as though the driver put his foot on the brake and the accelerator at the same time. Alfred Alexander Pellett, overseer in the Post and Telegraph Department, said all telephone wires on the post were broken. The pole originally on a cant and it had been moved a further 9 inches at the ground line. There were marks on the pole from three to five feet from the ground. Constable Henry, of Newmarket, said he told accused after the accident that he must have been driving very fast. Accused replied: " Oh no, my tyre blew out and I lost control of the car." The left back tyre was flat. Witness noticed a skid mark starting 2ft. 4in. from the kerb and continuing for a distance of lift. sin. to the second telegraph polo from the Hidings Road corner. There was a chip off the pole. Damage to the Car. Detective Packman said he examined the car and found it damaged beyond repair. " I consider tha,t the blow out was caused by the car scraping along the kerb and taking the rim off." said witness, in answering the foreman of the

jury. Counsel for the defence said it was contended that the accident was due to circumstances over which the accused had no control. Accused had only once previously driven the car, an eight-cylinder model, and ho suddenly found that it got out of his control. Although accused did not know it, ihe accelerator of the car had a propensity to jam. It was admitted that, the car was travelling at about 40 miles an hour. The car's behaviour was a new experience in accused's wide knowledge of driving, and ho had only a few split, seconds in which to act. " I am rather chary about believing that the car climbed the pole," said Professor S. E. Lamb, Professor of Engineering at the Auckland University College, who gave expert evidence regarding the. probable speed of the car and the force of the impact. " I have seen it done in motion pictures, but then it is a fake. I think the Crown witnesses suffered an optical illusion." Witness said he was of opinion that llio front of the car . bit into the pole and the back wheels were raised from the ground. He calculated that the speed of the car was just under 40 miles an hour. Jamming of the Accelerator. In evidence, accused said he attributed the accident to the jamming of his accelerator. He was surprised when the car moved fast on the approach to Ridings Road. He put on his brakes quickly, but was thrown off his balance when the car hit the second telegraph pole, lie remembered tho swerve of the car, but nothing further until after tho accident. Ho could not say when the blowout occurred in his tyre He, had been driving cars since 19C8 and had not previously had an accident. Cross-examined, accused said lie was within 60 or ZP yards of Ridings Road when he found he was going at a high speed. He then found that his accelerator would not act, and lie applied the bra kes. " Why did you not. put down the clutch?" asked tho Crown Prosecutor. Accused said he did not think to do this. He never declutched when travelling at a high speed. Cedric Vincent, a garage employee, said he. had owned the car previously and had had experience of the accelerator catching. When pushing down tho footbrake one could easily push the accelerator with it. "It seems to be a most dangerous car." said His Honor. After four hours' retirement the liirv returned to announce that it could r.ot agree upon a verdict. On the application of the Crown Prosecutor, His Honor ordeied a new trial, to he held, if possible, this session.