ALLEGED NEGLIGENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20704, 30 April 1929, Page 13

ALLEGED NEGLIGENCE.

CAR PASSENGER KILLED. DRIVER COMMITTED FOR -TRIAL. (Special to Daily Times.V CHRISTCHURCH, April 29. The Rearing was resumed this morning by Mr H. A. Young, SAL, of the case in ■which John Boyd Clark was charged that, on March 31 last, he negligently ' drove a motor Aar, thereby causing the death of Maureen Doris Mitchell.- The inquest .was taken simultaneously with the hearing of .the charge. The proceedings were begun laet,week, and adjourned to enable further evidence to be called. Mr C. 8. Thomas, with him Mr J. D. Hutchison, appeared for Clark, and Mr M. J. Glasson represented the relatives of the deceased'at the inquest. Herbert Roland Isaacs, ebop manager, of Caversham, Dunedin, stated that he was driving a three-saater car of the same model as the oar which wgs smashed along High street just after midnight of March 31. It was a, wet night, and he could scarcely see at ail. He noticed, a red tail l light ahead disappearing very quickly, and on turning into Manchester street at the Clock Tower: noticed. a car on the wrong side of the road facing him. On examination he found it in top gear and the’ hand brake was full on. The foot brake was stuck. The hand brake could be released. _ There was * bottle in the xar. He did not examine it or touch it, but later he saw a man take something out of 'the car while the con-' etable was across the road and move away with . it. He did not know who it was. The bottle looked like a gin or port wine bottle. Witness could not find; the driver-of the car. He traced the car marks back towards the post. He considered that the car had been in a v fourwheel slide or skid, which was . only possible with speed. It was a very hard skid to correct, and usually ended in a c-apeizc. t Mr Thomas: Is this man an expert? The magistrate said that he could be questioned as to his qualifications. ‘Witness said She had been driving cars for about 10 years. For five of . those he had been a beach racing driver. He had a motor engineer’s ticket. “I’ve had to learn quite a lot about' slides because it might mean my neck if I didn t,” he said. He had handled cars at 77' or 78 miles an hour and motor cycles at 90. He bad been employed as -a racing driver by a Dunedin firm. His own car was the same model as the one that was smashed, and he had raced it in the last Waikouaiti beach races. He had frequently timed the car at speed during races at, say, 48 miles an hour. There wag a much greater skid with the car at Manchester street than there would be on the track.

Would you suggest from that that the car, was doing 48 miles an Ihour?" asked Detective Sergeant Young. “It was going faster than that from the marks." Tne car was an easy one to handle, as it had self-centring steering. Witness said_ the night was dark and wet, and he did not consider that for a stranger to the town like himself anything over 20 miles an hour was. safe. To Mr Thomas: Even for one who knew the streets 25 miles an hour was enough. Anything over that would not be safe. By a four-wheel, slide he meant that the car was entirely out of control. It was not a very common type of skid. Either speed or putting on the brakes suddenly would cause a four-wheel skid, but speed was essential on a wet night, such as this. The speed would have to be over 40 miles an hour on an asphalt road. -It was possible, if a man took a very wide turn and pulled round sharply, and puff on his brakes he might get a four-wheel skid at 20 miles an hour. In that case he would expect the car to hit' the post sideways on and bounce off. This car did not do that. To Detective Sergeant Young: From the marks witness did not think- that the turn the accused had taken was wide enough to cause the skid at a speed of less than 40 miles an hour. He did not see any other cars about at the time.

James MThee, a miner, of Taylorville, said he was at the time of the accident standing at the corner of High and Manchester streets, by the taxi stand, at the Clock Tower, with a man named James Gordon. His attention was first attracted to the car by the unusual hum of its engine. The car attempted to turn. from High street into Manchester street, but skidded right across the road and struck a pole, side on. The car then spun round like a top, about four times, travelling about If yards while spinning, and finishing; the opposite way round. The car was doing a fair speed. He was not a judge of speed, and would not care to state definitely what speed it was, but it was faster than the ordinary speed in and around the city. Witness told of going across to the car and finding the driver still sitting at the wheel. There were two people lying on the road. “I was very excited at the time,” said witness, " because of the pitiful condition of the girl, and I said to the driver, ‘You ought to he hung for this/ He made no reply; There were no other cars there till after the accident." James Gordon, coal miner, of Dobson, gave corroborative evidence. Witness said he thought the tram rails had something to do with the skid, hut the speed of the car was pot reasonable.

“ I think on the evidence there is a case for investigation by the Supreme Court,” said the magistrate. The accused pleaded not guilty, reserved his defence, and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial. Bail was fixed at £SO. ,V As coroner, the magistrate found that the deceased died on March 31 from injuries accidentally received . from being thrown from a car driven by John Boyd Clark, through coming into contact with a telegraph pole.