DEATH OF INVALID

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22805, 12 August 1937, Page 15

DEATH OF INVALID

MOTOR-CAR CAPSIZES HEART AFFECTED BY SHOCK COMMENT BY THE CORONER An inquest into the deatli of an invalid, : Mr. Arthur Clarence Jamieson, aged 23, of 12 Union Lane, Freeman's Bay, which occurred at the Auckland Hospital on May 22 following a motor accident on the Thames highway, that day, was held before Mr. F. K. Hunt, coroner, yesterday. Deceased was a passenger in a motorcar which skidded and overturned in the : vicinity of Mangatawhiri, nine miles from Pokeno. Ho was pinned underneath the car and was found to bo in a serious condition when extricated. After receiving attention from a passing motorist he was .removed to the Auckland Hospital, where ho died five minutes after admission.

Percy Ernest Co ley, a garage proprietor at Mangatawhiri, said he noticed the car, a sports model, approaching his garage in a very erratic manner. It was swerving from one side of the road to the other and was being driven at a very high speed. Witness estimated that it passed him at 40 miles an-hour, but it appeared to slow down as it approached the Mangatawhiri Hall corner. The car was going too fast for the condition of the road. 5 Constable Oleson, of Mercer, who inspected the scene of the accident, said it would be suicidal to drive a light car on such a road at a high speed. The driver of the car, John Reid Carpenter, labourer, of Auckland, said ho approached the garage at 32 miles an hour, but at the corner reduced speed to between 20 and 23 miles an hour. Shortly afterward the car went into a left-hand skid, straightened for several yards, and then skidded off the road to the right, turning over. He attributed the skidding to the high crown of the road and to the loose metal. Witness and his companions had not had liquor.

Jules Kenneth v Hogwood, another passenger in the car, said deceased, who was conscious after the accident, had stated that he had tried to jump from the* car, but was thrown out when it rolled over.

Evidence was given by Dr. W. Gilmour, pathologist at the Auckland Hospital, and Dr. L. H. Aitkin ; who examined deceased on his admission, that the cause of death was heart failure precipitated by the shock of the accident. Dr. Aitkin said there were no injuries on the body except some small superficial abrasions and scratches. The deceased had suffered from severe heart disease for some time and his expectation of life was poor.

The coroner returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence. He added that the evidence satisfied him that Carpenter was driving a light car too fast for the condition of the road.