FALL FORM TRAIN

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23276, 20 February 1939, Page 8

FALL FORM TRAIN

DKIVER HIT BY BRIDGE ACCIDENT NOT WITNESSED ABSENCE UNNOTICED FOR TIME FOUND SERIOUSLY INJURED [by telegraph—owx correspondent] TAIHAPE, Sunday Believed to have been struck by an overhead bridge when he was up on the tender of his eng;ine about a mile north of Hunterville in the early hours of Saturday morning,, the driver of a goods train, Mr. Albert I'.rnest Rowley, of Taihape, married, was thrown to the track and suffered a fractured skull and severe head injuries. The train had travelled a distance of about two miles before the fireman, Mr. George Squirms, of Taihape, noticed that his companion was missing. Fireman Stops Train

The fireman immediately stopped the train and he fcnd the guard, Mr. Mark Siddle, also of Taihape, went back along the track in search of the missing man. Mr. Rowley wan discovered lying on the side of the track near the overhead bridge. The train left Maiton at 1.30 a.m. on Saturday for Taihape. After it had left Hunterville, Mr. Rowley climbed up on to the tender to trim the coal. It is thought that while he was up on the coal he was struck by the overhead bridge, winch is at present in the course of construction and which has not much clearance at the moment. The accident occurred at the foot of the hill known as Vinegar Hill. Picked Up Unconscious

It was some time before the fireman and the guard were able to locate Mr. Rowley. They were aided in their search by two surfacemen. Mr. Rowley was unconscious when picked up. Ho was attended by a nurse at Hunterville before being taken to the Taihape Hospital. He was still in a semi-conscious condition to-night, his condition being regarded as very serious.