PORTOBELLO ROAD FATALITY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 20964, 1 March 1930, Page 10

PORTOBELLO ROAD FATALITY

INQUEST CONCLUDED. OPEN VERDICT RETURNED. NO EVIDENCE OF INSOBRIETY. The adjourned inquest concerning the deaths of David Vernon, Wilkins and David Vernon Edwards, who were killed in a motor car collision near Waverley on the Portobello road was concluded in the courthouse yesterday before Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M., who sat as coroner. Sub-inspector Cummings conducted the proceedings on behalf of the police, and the relatives of the deceased, Wilkins and Edwards, were represented by Mr F. G. Duncan and Mr R. L. Simpson (instructed by Mr Hanlon) respectively. Mr Callan represented the Red Band Taxi Company, and Mr Simpson also appeared for the driver of the Roo car (John Paterson) and James Todd, ong of the passengers. Ada Smith, in evidence, stated that about 4.30 o’clock on New Year’s morning, she was a passenger from Grassy Point ill the Red Band motor van driven by the deceased Wilkins. She was sitting' between the driver and the previous witness, Mockford. A man named Russell and a Miss Garrick were in the rear of the van. As the van was approaching where the accident occurred it was only about six inches away from its correct side of the road. She first saw the Rco car when it was about 40 yards off. It was then travelling in the centre of the road, and was going faster than the van, which was only running on three cylinders. She would say that the van’s speed at that time would lie about 20 miles an hour, but on . seeing the car Approaching the driver slackened down to about 15 miles an hour, while the car kept coming on at the same pace. n The party in the \an were all sober. Witness received alight injuries, but these did not necessitate her removal to hospital, and she was treated privately. She had known Paterson, the driver of the Reo, prior to the accident. She saw him with two men named Hamilton and Willis either on .'January 15 or January 16, in Clark street, about 8 o’clock in the evenin". He asked her how she was getting on, and asked her how the accident occurred, to which witness replied she did not know. Paterson also mentioned that Willis was in the ear when tlm accident ■ happened, and that Donald, his brother, was still in hospital, but would be out in a few days. He said nothing in regard_ to what witness was to say at the inquest, but witness told him she was going to tell nothing but the truth. Paterson also said that lie supposed lie could oniy get 12 years. Hamilton then told witness that there were two girls in the car at 4 o’clock. She supposed he meant the Reo. Paterson further asked her if she had been inter- ( viewed by the police, to which she replied she had, but there was no suggestion made that she should give evidence for one side or the other. To Mr Simpson; On the way up from Grassy Point Mockford was keeping his eyes on the road, but he was also paying a little attention to her. William Black, an ambulance' driver said he arrived on the scene of the accident about 5.30 a.m., and went'on to describe the positions of the van and the car and the subsequent removal of the injured men to the hospital. Evidence as to the position of the cars after the collision was also given ’by Herbert James Hastie, manager of the Gold Band Taxis Company, who stated that the speed of the two cars must have been fairly fast to have caused such damage, and that one or other of the .vehicles could not have been under, proper control when the collision occurred. Such members of the party as he saw were all perfectly sober. Just before the point or impact he noticed the marks of a big skid,_ apparently made by the Reo car. tunning from the harbour side of the road towards the hillside. On examining the tracks of the van he could see that they extended back about 30 yards, on the correct side of the road, from the point of j impact.—ln reply to Mr Duncan, witness stated that a speed of 15 miles an hour D °t have thrown a weighty car like the Reo into the position in which it wa° found after the accident.—Phillip George Connelly, manager of the Red Band Taxi Company, who visited the scene of the accident, with the previous witness, corroborated his evidence. John Challis, who arrived on the scene of the accident about 6.45 o’clock on New Year s Morning, gave evidence as to the position of the cars when he saw them, and stated -that he saw a quantity of broken glass not for from the van, and on the inside of the centre of the road. He also noticed on the inside of .the centre of the road marks where the ears appeared to have twisted away from each other after colliding. Evidence was given by Senior Sergeant Quartermain that in consequence of complaints received by the police he had, on Christmas Eve, warned the deceased Wilkins against reckless driving, and had told him his recklessness would end up in his killing someone. Wilkins had replied that he would not consider that he drove recklessly. delivering his verdict the coroner said that a noteworthy and pleasing feature of the,proceedings was the fact that although the drivers of the cars and the passengers had all been in various places on the morning and evening prior to the accident, there was no evidence to show that any of them was under the influence of liquor. _ In dealing with the question of what might and what did happen, how--o\cr, it had to be taken into consideration that neither of the drivers had been in bed all night. The question of speed could best be estimated by what had occurred, and he accepted the evidence of the occupants of the cars on this point with considerable reservation. It would ' not be proper to discuss the matter in detail at that stage, but he was unable to find any clear-cut evidence of criminal evidence on the part of the owner of either car. Considering all the facts, however, concluded Mr Bundle, he found it difficult to believe that cither car was travelling slowly, and there was a clear impression on his mind that both cars were travelling fast. He could only find that the deceased died from injuries caused by being thrown from motor cars which came into collision on the Porto- , hello road on January 1.