FATAL COLLISION

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22084, 13 April 1935, Page 12

FATAL COLLISION

LORRY-DRIVER KILLED ACCIDENT AT OTAHUHU ONE VEHICLE'S CAREER PLUNGE THROUGH A FENCE A motor fatality occurred on the Great South Road, Otahuhu, early yesterday morning when one of the drivers of two motor-lorries involved in a collision was killed. He was Mr. George Edgar Is utter, aged 06,. of Luke Street, Otahuhu. The driver of the other vehicle, Mr. Arthur Earl Viles, an employee of Waione Piggeries, Limited, of Papakura, was thrown to the roadway. He suffered slight abrasions to the hands and face. The accident occurred about 5.30 a.m., when the road was shrouded in* darkness. None of the street lights in the vicinity was lighted, all public lighting in the town being extinguished ! every morning at one o'clock. Fairly heavy rain had fallen shortly before the mishap and darkened the concrete surface of the road. A light misty rain was falling at the time of the collision. Vehicle Turned Round Mr. Nutter was driving northward on the main road, in a flat-bodied tontruck with a cab over the driving seat. The vehicle driven by Mr. Viles was a heavy traffic lorry of 5£ tons laden weight. It is owned by Waione Piggeries, Limited, and was also proceeding northward. The vehicles came into collision 3s the heavy truck was passing the other. The force of the impact hurled Mr. Nutter to the roadway and his vehicle was turned completely round. He received severe head injuries and Dr. E. R. Lange, of Otahuhu, who arrived within a few minutes, . found .that death had beeh instantaneous. After Mr. Viles also had been thrown to the road, his vehicle careered across the footpath, crashed through a wire and post fence and ran across a paddock for 50 yards before stopping. Jtfl path was affected by tbe damage caused to the front left wheel, which deflected the heavy vehicle from a residence adjoining the paddock. 1 { came to rest about 20ft. from the back of the house. A member of the household, who was awakened by the crash, said he found bis bedroom suddenly illuminated by the lorry's headlights. He feared that the vehicle would crash into the room. Residents over a wide area were awakened by the crash and the rumbling which followed, caused by empty garbage tins on the heavy lorry. Damage to the Lorries The light lorry was damaged extensively, the cab being torn off and both right-hand wheels being broken and twisted. The heavy truck was not seriously damaged. Mr. Nutter, who was born in England and came to New Zealand an a young man, had resided in the Otahuhu \ district for over 22 years. He was in i business as a contractor and carrier. ! He was a South African War veteran, j having served with the Army in South j Africa during most of the* campaign. | Prior to settling in the Dominion. Mr. j Nutter spent a few years in Canada, j He was a member of the Oddfellows' craft and an active member of the Anglican Church. He served on the vestry of the Otahuhu Holy Trinity Church for some years. He is survived by his wife and one daughter, Mrs. K. R. Kay, of Gisborne. j An inquest was opened before Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., at Otahuhu yesterday afternoon. After evidence of identification had been taken the proceedings were adjourned sine die.