ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19958, 27 November 1926, Page 13

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES.

FALL FROM A CLIFF. (Peb United Pbess Abboouttoh.) TAUMARUNUI, November 26. At the inquest on Roberts, who was ; killed by falling over a cliff, a verdict'; of accidental death was returned. ■.:>

A FATAL PALL. (Special to Daily Times.) CHRISTCHURCH, November 28. . ; ' The adjourned inquest on Patrick Fahey, who died in the public hospital after having been found unconscious in f his room at a city hotel, was concluded this ‘ afternoon. A verdict was returned that.Fahey ied as the result of a fractured-; skull and cerebral haemorrhage resulting from a fall while in a state of intoxication.

AN INQUEST OPENED. (Special to Daily Times.)

CHRISTCHURCH, November 26. An inquiry into the death of Charles. Nelson, of 377 St. Asaph street, who was fatally injured in a collision with a motor ' car driven by Arthur Howard Murray in. Victoria street on Wednesday night, was , opened by Mr H. P. Lawry, S.M., coroner,, this morning. Evidence of identification' was given by deceased’s wife, who stated that when she saw her husband at the. hospital he was unable to tell her how', the accident had happened. The coroner, adjourned the inquiry till Friday, Decern-, ber 3. . SHUNTING FATALITY. ■ INQUEST CONCLUDED. The inquest concerning the death of Thomas M’Auliffe, who died at the Dun-'-edin Hospital on November 14 as the - result of injuries received while engaged - ' in his occupation of shunter at the Dundin railway yard, was concluded yesterday; morning before Mr H. W. Bundle, SAL,; sitting as coroner. Sergeant Dunlop represented the police, Mr Ward the relatives of the deceased, and Mr J. Pickard the Railway Department. ■ Frank Pope, fireman and motor ambulance driver, attached to the City Fire Brigade, said he received a call to go to the railway yard at 9.16 a.m. on Novem-" ber 12 and, after conveying the patient to the Hospital he returned to the station at 9.35 a.m. He produced the call book, showing these times to be correct. Dr Francis Gordon Rich, a house surgeon at the Dunedin Hospital, said he admited the patient at 9.30 a.m. on November 12. He produced his book which showed , that entry. The entry in the admissionbook made by the porter was obviously* wrong. This showed that the time of dfr;, ceased’s admission was 10.40 a.m. Therd was delay in his admission to the ward. The Coroner after reviewing the at length said there was some between the evidence given by the witness • Dobson and the engine-driver relative tj>r the signals received. _ The driver said h#., first got the shut off signal, and that when, he got the signal to stop the brakes were applied. The trucks were stopped, very sharply. It appeared that the practice o| shunters was to jump off the truck on. which they were riding when the signaj, was given to stop. There did not seem to be anv doubt about the question that deceased lost his balance. He either lost hie, foothold or his hand hold. The evidence of the witness Dobson was that the stop was a sharp one, but this waa not unusual as far as shunting was concerned. It was, generally recognised that shunting was e£ dangerous occupation. Although quite an intelligent man the deceased could not be said to be an experienced, shunter, and. it was probably due to his lack of ex? perience that the accident happened. , He probably lost his grip just at the critical,., moment. Immediately alter the accident ck>" curred an ambulance was sent for,, and dot, ceased was removed to the Hospital with.all possible haste. Evidence given had shown that deceased was admitted at 10.40 a.m., which showed considerable delay;. This time was now shown to have been in-; correct. It was obviously, a mistake. Th« evidence given that morning showed thas the deceased was admitted at 9-30 a.m.’. There did not seem to be any doubt (Hi that point, and he was glad it had beea cleared up. Unfortunately tor the do-’ ceased trouble supervened at the HospitaJ and gas gengrene developed. All possible' care was taken but the man died as the, result of this trouble. His verdict would be that Thomas M'Auliffe died on Novem-_ ber 14 of toxaemia following a very virulent infection, from injuries received by being crushed while engaged in shunting at the Dunedin railway goods yard ohj November 12. . DEATH OF A CHILD. POISON SUSPECTED. A little girl named Margaret Jean Roy, , aged three years and 10 months, daughter of Mr James Alexander Koy. farmer, of Taumatu, near Waiwera South,, was taken f , suddenly ill on Tuesday, and died shortly, after admission to the Balolutha Hospital. on Wednesday afternoon. Poisoning , suspected as the'cause of death, An nv,quiry was opened by Mr H. J. Dixon, S.M., coroner, in the Balclutha Courthouse, on Thursday afternoon. Evidence was - given by the father of the child, and by Drs J. E. K. Brown and A. C. Biggs (i;-edical superintendent of the hospital^,and James M‘Gregor (a neighbour of de-'* cessed parents). In the evidence it wag stated that until bedtime on Tuesday this child was apparently in good healtn. She) had been playing with her brother, aged six, in a paddock where her father wassowing turnip seed during the greater part, oi the day. At about 10.15 p.m. she ■ woke up and commenced vomiting, and also; had diarrhoea. Dr Brown, of Balcultha,, was communicated with, and be prescribed,' castor oil. The child did not improye during the night, and the doctor was againcommunicated with by tejephone, andprescribed again, and made an appointment to see the child about midday on Wednes-. day. The doctor arrived shortly after noon, and. after remaining with the child for about an hour, decided to take her to the Balclutha Hospital. The little sufferer was admitted to the hospital about 3 o’clock, being then in a state of collapse, and died about 4 p.m. without having rallied. D r Brown, in his evidencey said he thought the cause of death was some kind of poison. Dr Biggs saul he had conducted a post-mortem, and bad torwarded the contents of the stomach to Dunedin for analysis Mr M‘Gregor*a.d the child had partaken of food with, his children on Tuesday, but none of them had been sick afterwards. The coroner;, decided to adjourn the inquest to enable _ further inquiries to be made. -

A FRACTURED LEG. _ - A man named John Arnold was admitted to the Hospital at 1.30 P.m. ?« terda y> suffering from a fractured leg. the result of being run over by an express a t the conrer of St. Andrew and Cumberland streets.