CROSSING SMASH

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22429, 27 May 1936, Page 12

CROSSING SMASH

ENGINE WKECKS CAR ELDERLY WOMAN INJURED DRIVER HURLED ON TO . LINE [by telegraph—OWN* correspondent] NEW PLYMOUTH. Tuesday An unattached locomotive crashed into a mctor-car at the Rata Street level crossing at Inglewood this afternoon, hurling the occupants out and crushing the car against a signal post. Mrs. W. H. Franklyn, an elderly woman, received head injuries and was admitted to the New Plymouth Hospital for observation. Three other passengers, Miss P. Arnold, of the Bay of Islands, Mrs. G. Arnold, of Inglewood, and the driver of the car, Mr. L. J. Dobson, Suffolk lload, Inglewood, escaped serious injury. Mr. Dobson had a remarkable escape from death. The front of the locomotive threw the car against a signal post and the wreckage was struck again by the tender. Mr. Dobson was thrown on to the line behind the passing engine, which was quickly brought to a standstill. Mrs. Franklyn received her injuries through being thrown forward against the dashboard. The car approached the crossing facing directly into the sun, and the driver neither saw nor heard the locomotive until it was too late to avoid a collision. ,