GUILTY OF NEGLIGENCE.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20711, 8 May 1929, Page 9

GUILTY OF NEGLIGENCE.

CAR PASSENGER KILLED. THE DRIVER CONVICTED. (Special to Daily Times.) CHRISTCHURCH, May 7, ■ After well over an hour’s; deliberation the jury. at. the Supreme'Court to-day convicted John Boyd Clark of. causing. the death of Maureen Doris Mitchell on March 31 through the negligent driving of a nip tor car/finding him guilty of not exercising sufficient' care under the conditions- obtaining on" that night, but entering a recommendation to leniency. Clark was remanded ,by Mr : Justice Adams till Friday for sentence, being, released. bnthe undertaking of his counsel (Mr C. S. Thomas) that he would appear.. Opening the case for the Crown, Mr A. T. Donnelly said that a party of four had been to the “ Dixieland ” Cabaret on March 30, and were driving down High street. When the driver ■ attempted to turn into Manchester street at the Clock Tower, the car struck a post, Miss, Mitchell being killed, and another passenger' in-, jured. It was alleged that the accused drove negligently and at a reckless speed. There was 1 no suggestion'of drink either in the case of Clark or any of his pas- ' sengers. The case was of importance to the public in view of the ever-increasing traffic and the consequentnumber of accidents. Evidence was given on the Irpes *6t that given in the Magistrate’s Court. Cecil Spence Penlington, the injured passenger, said he remembered nothing from a few, minutes past midnight till 10 o’clock next morning when he partly .regained consciousness in hospital. < Norah Rich, the fourth passenger, said that Miss Mitchell, was sitting on Penlington’s knee with her back to the lefthand door.of the cp,-which, after hitting the post, spun completely round. It was a very wet night and the speed of the car did not appear to her to be a high one. Several ; eye-witnesses of the accident stated that the car’s speed was excessive, and the driver had ho chance of making the turn. One witness stated that the brakes were apparently jammed on, while another thought the back wheels appeared to skid on the tram lines. Another wit- • ness said the car spun round four or five times like a top, .after striking the post. Herbert Roland Isaacs, shop manager, of Dunedin, who was driving a similar car down High street, and arrived bn the scene immediately after the accident,; said he examined the damaged car and found it in top gear. The hand brake was full on, - and .the foot brake was stuck. Witness explained his 'qualifications as a racing driver, and his experience with his own car at high speeds in the matter of skidding. ' Clark's car, he said,.had started on a ttfo-wheoleji skid and-had developed into a four-wheeled skid. He estimated the speed from the marks on the road and the damage.to the ear at more than 40 miles an hour. He would not consider it, safe to travel at more than 20 miles an 1 hour that night. This concluded the case for the Crown, and the foreman of the jury > stated that all the jury had seen the damaged car. Mr Thomas did not call evidence, and Mr Donnelly intimated that he had’ nothing further to add. Addressing the jury, Mr Thomas said the whole of the Crown’s case rested upon “ sp-eed.” There was.no question-what-ever of drink. The Crown’s Witnesses merely said the ' accused was going too fast. There had been no speed stated, and it would be entirely unsafe to convict, - The jury retired at. 4.30 p.m. and returned at 5.52 p.m. with the verdict as 1 stated. ' .