RETURNING FROM THE RACES

NZ Truth, Issue 685, 27 July 1918, Page 5

RETURNING FROM THE RACES

A Mishap m Molesworth-street ORMOND C. COOPER'S DEATH. A Coronial Inquiry and the Verdict. Mr. W. G. Riddell, as Coroner, opened an inquest on Tuesday into the circumstances touching the death of Ormond Cholmondeley Cooper, who died m a private hospital at. Thorndon on Saturday last, as the result of a collision between a taxi-cab and a lior.se Jorry m Mol es wor th -s tree t. Quite a formidable bar was arrayed, the suggestion being that there was a • possibility of a charge of some gravity arising, from the collision. Mr. H. F. O'Leary Avatched the proceedings on behalf of Michael Kearney, m whose taxicab deceased was riding at the time of the accident; Mr. T. Neave appeared for Messrs. Munt, Cottrell ■ and Co., the owners of the horse lorry concerned In the accident; Mr. J. O'Shea appeared for the City Corporation; and Sergeant Wade represented the police. The medical evidence was to the effeot that the deceased, who is a brother of Mr, 3D, G, A. Cooper. S.M.i and fortyeight years of &ga, died, aftai 1 removal to a privato hospital, from internal Injuries by way of the chest and back. Mlohael Kearney, the driver of tht taxi-oab, stated that he was RETURNING FROM THE RACES on Wednesday with five passengers m his car, one of whom was Mr. Cooper. He returned via Molesworth-street on account of the bad state of Thomdon-quay. The road was wet and greasy, but his brakes were m perfect order and condition. As he journeyed along Moles-worth-street there was another car 20 or 30 yards ahead of him. There was also a tramcar ahead, which slowed down , when taking the loop near the Metropolitan Hotel. He caught the tram up near the next loop, and at that moment the motor-car Just ahead of him skidded on to the tramline. He applied both brakes at once. The horse lorry then came into view, without lights, about two lengths away. The back part of his car skidded into the gutter when he applied the brakes, and the tram struck the front part of the taxi. Almost simultaneously the left shaft of the lorry struck the back of the car . and went through it. He was only travelling about six or seven miles an hour, and the only course for him when the front car swerved was to stop dead. The lorry horses were only walking-, but they were frightened by the tramcar and plunged. There was not room for two vehicles and the tram on that side of the road. The lorry had no lights, though the driver said his light had been knocked off m the collision, and was underneath the lorry. . They struck matches and searched, but there was no sign of a lamp. The lorry could easily have passed the tram on the proper Bide of the road. Allan Orbell, a Waikoualti sheepfarmer, who was also a passenger m the taxi, corroborated this evidence. After •kidding, the taxi wag hit by the tram and thrown back on to the lorry, one shaft of which came through behind and struck deceased m the .back. Kearney was driving carefully, and had every control of his taxi. His only alternative when the car •m front swerved was to have gone on, and he might have got through, but the chanco was very uncertain. Had he been driving himself he would not have expected to find a lorry on that side of the road. This opinion was endorsed by Arthur Hyde, driver of the tramoar, who said that it Was A DANGEROUS PLACE for a lorry to get into, and lorriaa were seldom seen on that side of the road, except when loading or unloading. He saw no light on the lorry, but heard some conversation concerning it. Frank James Grifljn, driver of the lorry, said that he was driving on the right-hand side of the road because he was of opinion that there was not room on the other side. The lorry was 6ft Gin wide from axle to axle. There was a light underneath the lorry on the rlffhthand side by the shaft. It was bound on with hemp. He was travelling at a walking pace, and when the tram approached stopped the lorry to allow it to pass. The lorry was well m the watertable. Kearney applied his brakes hard and the taxi-cab slewed round and hit his lorry on the end of the shaft on the near side, so hard as to turn the horses on to the footpath and throw him off on to the road. In his opinion, Kearney was travelling at an excessive speed, and seemed to think that the tram was going to take the loop. There was plenty of room for him to get through. At the point m question it was the regular practice of drivers to take the righthand side of the road. On the other side there was only a few inches of clearance, which made it dangerous' for f heavy traffic. It was Impossible to drive a heavy lorry to a few inches. The horses were more difficult to handle, as they were going home. He had obtained his lamp at the office, and it was alight when the collision occurred. The horses did not move until the collision occurred, but when he got up from the ground they were making off down the street. Further evidence was given regarding the dimensions of the road, and the Coroner then gave his verdict. He reviewed the evidence at length, saying that the lorry was admittedly on the wrong side of the road, though the explanation of this was a feasible one. Kearney was put In a difficult position, and it was quite natural that he could not see any light on the right side of the lorry. Where it was necessary to take the wrong side of the road there should have been a light on the left side also. It was suggested that Kearney could easily have got through, but he had •to make up his mind hurriedly. He may have committed AN ERROR OF JUDGMENT, and this might also be said of the driver of the lorry. His verdict was: "I find that Ormond C. Cooper died on July 13 from Injuries accidentally received m a collision between a motor-car and a lorry on July 10. In the circumstances, no blame is attachable to the motor-car driver. As far as the horse T drawn lorry is concerned, I will make no remarks."