KICKED ON THE HEAD.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19135, 1 April 1924, Page 2

KICKED ON THE HEAD.

THE OPOHU FATALITY. INQUEST CONCLV L El). The adjourned inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of a young man named William George, Hiller, w.-.o died as a result of being thrown oft a dial and then being kicked be the horse, and run over at Opohu last Wednesday, was held before Air J. A. Bartholomew, b.M., sitting as coroner, at the courthouse yesterday. Sergeant Bou.’on appeared for Uie polior, Mr A. K. Haggitt for the City Corporation. Mr J. S. Sinclair lor the j-e-atives of d.i-ce-ased, and Mr J. B. Callan ior Hr Wm Caaoy, by whom deceased was emp-oyed. William Casey, contractor, saai he resided in Clyde e-treat. Hiller had been employed by him as a driver for the past slit or seven months He. was a veiv careful driver, and ou the day in question ietl the stables at 7.15 a.m., with two hoists and two drays, driving one and lending thl other. He thought deceased was leading the second horse with a rope. The horses were veil! quiet and reliable, particularly the one that .was being driven, it was one of the quietest horses lu the stable. tie hud never a- V deceased drive a horse without reins.

'•lric Henry shepherd, postal employee, .eluted that on Wednesday he had been at Opoho and there saw Hiller at 4.25 p.ni. Miller had been carting road material, and when witness saw him lie was returning with an empty dray. Witness got into the dray and found that deceased was driving without reins. Deceased was sitting on the rights hand shaft, and witness was on the left. Alter going a few yards the horse commenced to trot, and then broke into r. gallop. There was nothing that could bo seen to frighten the animal. Deceased lr,ed to stop tne horse l>v ending out in it, but it not into a very fast gallop, and took to the left-hand footpath. It kept to the footpath for about a chain and then struck a post, and the collis.on caused deceased to slip cn to the shaft of the dray. 'ihe left wheel of the dray got into the wafer channel, which caused deceased to fall in front of the warn., Jh" wheel then parsed ever the upper portion of his body. Witness had by (hat time jumped off the dray. He ran to deceased and louud blood issuing, from his mouth and nose. Deceased never spoke, and was then practically dead. Witness had never seen deceased driving the same horse before without leins. Deceased bad raid it was the nest horse he had ever driven, and that it did not require rums. To Hr Sinclair-, The horse appeared to be very quiet. Tile road was not steep, hut gradually sloped down. To Mr Callan : The distance octween where witness got into the dray and wbei’e the accident happened was 11 cnaum. In reply to Air Callan witness said there was no bit in the home's mouth, and deceased had nothing in his hands. The rope round the horse’s neck was attached to tue dray. The dray was on the road pretty elese to the gutter, and the horse v.-as walking along quietly. It began to trot at the end ot a few yards—l2 yards--and Die pace increased. The dray was on the road the left wheel close to the channel. h rom trotting the pace became a gallop, and nwas then that the dray mounted the took path. It crashed into an electric light pole, and the accident then occurred. Witness had jumped oil before the dray struck the post, but was not lar behind when the accident happened. After the left wheel wa* in the water channel and the right wheel on the road. The road was straight. Harry David Calvert deposed that he was driving a motor car up Warden street. Opobo, and was three-quarters of the way up the street when he met a runaway horse and dray, with two men in the dray. The horse was going at a gallop. He did not think there was room for both cur and dray, and pulled on to the left aide, stopped, and told his passengers to get out. Just as he stopped he noticed one of ilio occupants of the dray jump out. The horse came cn at a gallop, and just us the cart was opposite the car deceased fell from the shaft, and received a kick on the head from the horse. Immediately the left-hand wheel of the dray passed over Iris chest. Deceased was about three yards from witness when he fell. Witness rushed over and found deceased lying, face upwards with blood pouring from his mouth and nose. He did not sec the dray etrik" a pest. Deceased had his right hand on the horse's harness, but witness could not sue what he was doing with his left hand. To Mr Sinclair: The horse was galloping when witness first saw it. There were no reins, but a bit was under the chin of tne horse. An attempt was made to stop the horse.

To Mr Callan : Opposite, witness one wheel of the dray was in the channel. It was not a concrete channel, but a deep ditch in the term of a D.

Constable Chapman stated that on arrival at the scene of the accident he found ,de • ceased lying on the side of the road. H“ was quite dead, and witness removed I l '' body to the Morgue. On examination wit ness found that deceased had the back portion of hia head and lower jaw fractured, and was bruised about the chest and right s d«. Witness said the channel had been secured by water. The road and footpath togethe" were JTfI wide. The channel was 2ft wi'le and Bin deep. The witness Casey (recalled), in reply to Mr Sinclair, said that the horse was a very quiet one. He owned between 30 and 40 horses. He would not say that they were ah quiet horses. Th:e particular horse was absolutely quiet. If a horse commenced to bolt (he very worst-thing to do was to call out to it. In sending out two teams one horse had reins and the other had a rope. He stiil sent out teams with one pair o' reins.

To the Coroner; There was no difficulty in changing the reins from one horse to another. To Mr Callan: When the teams went away in the morning the horse that caused the accident had reins attached, and if it had no reins on when the accident occuncd they must have been taken off.

The Coroner said that tho actual cause of the accident was clear enough. Tho unfortunate lad (Miller) had fallen from the dray after his horse had bolted some distance down the road. Whether he should cxoect tho horse to bolt, when not driven with a rein, was not bo clear. Mr Carey said the horse w«e very quiet and that was supported by the lad in tho dray (Shepherd). That might account for it being driven without reins, but no reason had been shown why it should be driven without reins when reins were provided. There was nothing to show what caused the horse to bolt, but probably witnesses had not noticed what caused the animal to take fright.. No matter whether a horse was quiet or not. it was a dangerous practice to drive without reins. If an animal of this description (a drsy horse) bolted it was the worst kind of belt that could be experienced. The verdict would he that death was due to severe injuries to tho head caused by falling from a drny when a horse was bolting, and by being kicked by tho horse.