CRASH INTO TRAM

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXII, Issue 22193, 21 August 1935, Page 12

CRASH INTO TRAM

MOTORIST INJURED FALL ON TO ROAD DISLOCATION OF TRAFFIC Through crashing into the rear of a stationary trnmcnr at tho corner of Great South Road and Manukau Road at about 6.40 last evening a large sedan motor-car was damaged extensively, tho chassis being twisted and tho engine forced back into tho driver's compartment. The driver and sole occupant of the motor-car, Mr. William Percy Swaffield, aged 36, married, an auctioneer employed by Alfred Buckland and Sons, Limited, and living at Rangitoto Road, Papatoetoe, suffered concussion and scalp wounds. After receiving first-aid, he was taken to the Auckland Hospital in a St. John ambulance. His condition is not serious. The sound of the impact was heard from a considerable distance and a very large crowd gathered. Traffic was dislocated, and owing to the difficulty in moving the damaged car, it was about half an hour before a line of outwardbound tramcars could proceed. Tho impact caused tho door of the motor-car to fly open and Mr. Swaffield fell to the roadway. Though not unconscious, ho was bleeding profusely, and was given first-aid treatment by Mr. J. Watson Cumming, of Epsom. How ho escaped more serious injury is remarkable, for even tho rim of the steering wheel was shattered. Though tho brakes of the tramcar were on at the time, it was forced forward several feet. Tho heavy steel fender at tho rear was considerably dented, but no other damage to the tramcar occurred, and it later proceeded to the Epsom depot to which it was bound.