ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20282, 15 December 1927, Page 8

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

BOROUGH EMPLOYEE’S DEATH. (Pe n United Press Association.) WAIEOA, December 14. A fatal accident happened late yesterday afternoon to a borough employee (L. nan nan). When he was unharnessing a horse in a yard the animal bolted, and jammed him against the entrance post, resulting in several ribs being smashed and serious interna] injuries, from which ho succumbed a few hours later. The deceased leaves a widow and two young children. FOUR CHILDREN INJURED. (Pee United Press Association.' NAPIER, December 14. One girl had a finger torn oil, another received a fracture of the arm, a third injuries to the arm, and a boy suffered a fractured elbow, and they are new all in hospital as the result of a Government motor bus grazing along the edge of a motor lorry in which a number of pupils and teachers of the Napier Technical School was returning from a picnic this evening. The lorry was on a narrow bridge when the bus, which was travelling in the opposite direction, attempted to pass, but the bridge was too narrow, and the bus scraped along the rail of the lorry with the result stated. INQUESTS. THE TAIERI FATALITY. The adjourned inquest into the circum stances attending the death of Mrs Frank Steans, 64 years of age, of Invercargill, who was drowned in the Taieri River, on December 7, was held yesterday, before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, coroner Frank Alpheus Steans, residing at Gladstone, Invercargill, a retired tobacconist, said he had been on a holiday in Christchurch with his wife and his sister-in-law They were returning to Invercargill by motor when the accident happened. They left Dunedin at 9.20 a.m. Witness drove past Mosgiel, where his wife took the wheel. The car was in good order. His wife had often taken the wheel when they were out of the town, but had no license to drive. When crossing the Taieri bridge his wife called his attention to an approaching oar, and witness told her to keep weii to the left side. On leaving the bridge she kept the car to the left. Iho car then swerved round suddenly on the right look, and witness saw there was likely to be an accident. Witness at once put on the emergency brake. The car was ttien just a few feet from the other car. tit was of opinion that when his wife saw an accident was inevitable she fainted or suffered from heart failure. When the oar went over the bank into the river he tried to open the door, but could not do so. He broke the rear window and a rush of water carried him out feet loremost. Ho made an attempt to reach ms wife, but failed. When he was in the water ho saw his sister-in-law, and they both reached the bank. His wife had always enjoyed good health, though she suffered with her heart when walking uphill. On crossing the bridge the car was not going more than 10 miles an hour. He was sure if his wife had had her senses about her she would have cleared the otiicr car, as there was plenty of room. Randle John Montgomery, taxi driver, Lawrence, said that on the morning of December 7 he was motoring into Dunedin. Approaching the Taieri bridge, he said to his wife, “A car is coming on the bridge, and I’ll wait till it gets over.’’ It was a two-way bridge. Witness kept on ms own side, and went ahead quietly. As ho got to the bridge the car came off tne bridge, well on its own side. Witness was about to stop, to let a second oar off the bridge. As the first car came off tne bridge it swerved round to the right. v.aen witness saw the car coming he placed ms foot on the accelerator and his car jumped forward. The other car struck his car on the right mudguard and continued on into the river. Witness stopped his car and ran round and saw the other car in the water. ‘The third car also stopped, » itness saw Mr Steans and a lady hanging on to the piles of the old bridge, and witn the aid of a rope they wore pulled ashore. When the car come off the bridge it was well on its own side, but unexpectedly came round. Witness judged, by the way the oar turned, that something had gone wrong with the driver, because there was plenty of room on the road—enough room for three cars. When the car came off the bridge it would be going 15 or 20 miles an hour, which was not too fast. The car was going steadily. Mr Steans said- his wife never exceeded 25 miles an hour on a good roao, ana crossing the bridge she was going just half the usual speed. Constable Southgate, stationed at Outram, said that at 11 a.m. on December ( he received a telephone message about me accident. He arrived at the bridge at 12 o’clock. Wire ropes were procured, ana the car was lifted from the river at 0 o’clock. The body of Mrs Steans was m the driver’s scat, with one hand on the wheel. The hand brake was hard an, and the car was in top gear. Ihe footbrake would not work, but it might have been damaged when the car was oemg lifted out of tho river. The wheel marks on the road showed the swerve the car haa taken towards Mr Montgomery’s car. The road at that point was 31ft wide. Mr Steans’s car had to run 21ft before it struck the other oar and then cover 1. of grass to the river. When the car was lifted, the doors were found to be locked. The car was submerged in kOft of water. The Coroner said this was a sad and tragic fatality. The evidence was dear, and showed that the unfortunate deceased woman completely lost her head, possibly due to nervousness. He thought there was one comment he should make. He hau had more than one inquest where the fatality had been due to the age of me driver. He considered there should be an ago limit put on the drivers of motor cars, lie would make the age limit 60 years. In cases where this might be a drastic provision in respect of persons ovei 60, a medical certificate could be obtained to show a person was entitled to a license. Motor traffic was increasing, and tho time had come when there should be au age limit put on drivers, not only in their own interests but in the interests of the public. Elderly people were not alert enough and could not act quickly in an emergency. This case exemplified what ue was alluding to. His verdict would be that death was due to accidental drowning through a motor car falling into the Taieri River. ACCIDENT TO RAILWAY GUARD. Tho inquest into the circumstances leading up to the death of John Scott Crawford, a guard on the Port Chalmers rail way, who met his death on -December 2, was continued yesterday before Mr J. R. Bartholomew, coroner. Sergeant M‘Entee represented the police, and Mr R. Carter the Railways Department. Dr Drennan, pathologist, Otago Univcr sity, said he had made a post-mortem examination of the body of tho deceased. As a result of tho examination, witness was of opinion that th e deceased died from a fracture of the skull, with resulting concussion of the brain. As a contributing factor there was severe pneumonia of the influenza type. Dr Alexander George Minn, house surgeon. Dunedin Hospital, said he saw the deceased at 7.30 p.m. on December 2. The man was unconscious, and on examining the head, witness detected a fracture of tho skull. There were minor abrasions on the right arm and leg. An operation was porfomed at 9.30 p.m. Next day the man rallied a little and was at times semi-con-scious. He died on December 4 at 4.15 p.m. Malcolm Scott, engine driver, said that ho was in charge of the engine drawing a passenger train from Dunedin to *Port Chalmers at 4.55 p.m. on December 2. Tho deceased was the guard, and witness saw him at the rear of the train giving the signal. After arriving at th e Port witness took charge of the goods train of which the deceased was also the guard. On tho run to Dunedin the train did not stop until Burkes was reached, where he was in formed that tho guard had fallen off. The train was a long one of over 50 vehicles and two engines, while the guard’s van wa» between the trucks in the front and the carriages. The speed was about 25 miles an hour, and the spot where do ceased had fallen off was a nasty cur\e through Sawyers’ Bay. On such a curve the train would jerk considerably. Deceased was of a jovial and happy disposition and to tho knowledge of witness did not suffer from anv form of ill-health. Witness did not notice any open door on the tr.i'” After describing himself as a carter rc- „„ al .<awyeis' Bay, Albert Edward Thirlow said that, on December 2 he was driving a dray near the Sawyers Bav railway station about a chain and a-half ivom the line. The train approached and a, it passed he saw the guard falling head first from the carriages. As he fell he struck a hoard covering some interlocking gear with -iu h force that the wood was broken off. When witness reached the decease, he found that the injured man was sc