ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21362, 16 June 1931, Page 8

ACCIDENTS AND FATALITIES

FOOT CAUGHT IN STIRRUP (Peb United Press Association.) WAIPUKURAU, June 15. Through being dragged by his foot in the stirrup when his horse bolted on a sheep station at Motere, Patrick Circuit, aged 18, was taken to hospital at Waipukurau with, severe injuries. His condition is critical. YOUNG MAN COLLAPSES AND DIES (Peb United Press Association.) CHRISTCHURCH, June 15. Frederick Musson, aged 22, single, collapsed and died this evening at A. Thomp son’s boxing school in the city. The available information is that Musson was not engaged in boxing: nor had he taken part in actual boxing during the evening. Musson was being shown how to deliver a certain blow by the instructor, and he was imitating the instructor when he collapsed. It is stated that no blows had been struck during the demonstration. WATERSIDE WORKER’S DEATH The inquest into the death of George Frederick Cory, who died on June 8 following an accident on May 19 at the wharf, was continued yesterday morning before the coroner (Mr H. W. Bundle, S.M.). John Frederick Rosenbrock, a waterside worker, stated that he was worffing on the wharf at the s.s. Waikouaiti op the day of the accident. His duty was to shunt the trucks as they were filled with coal from the vessel. The deceased was working unloading baskets into the trucks. At about 1.30 p.m. a truck was being filled by the deceased and another man. There was an empty basket in the truck, behind which the deceased was standing about three feet from the end of the truck. The full basket titled a little towards the empty basket. Witness saw the deceased hesitate and stumble on some coal on which he was standing. He then lost his balance and fell off the truck on to the wharf. Witness was standing about eight feet from the truck at the time, and he rushed forward to try and break the deceased’s fall, but was unable to do so. The deceased fell, striking his head on the outer railway line on which the trucks were standing, and receiving a nasty gash on the head. The ambulance arrived quickly, and witness accompanied the deceased to the Hospital. The truck was being loaded in the usual manner. The deceased was an active man and was used to such work. To Mr W. D. Taylor, who represented the relatives of the deceased, witness said that the deceased was quite ready to receive the full basket. There was no movement of the truck. The system of discharging coal in that way was usual, and had been in operation on the Dunedin wharves for many years.—Joseph Whitty, a waterside worker, stated that he was on the Waikouaiti, and his duty was to pass word from No. 2 hatch to the trucks. The deceased was working on a truck which was being filled at that hatch. Witness’s duty was to see that the men on the truck were ready to receive the full basket before ho gave the “ clear ” signal. At about 1.30 p.m. witness gave the signal to hoist the full basket into the truck in which the deceased was working. It landed in the. middle of the truck on a rough crop of coal and ghve a tilt towards the empty basket. The deceased appeared to step back to avoid the tipping basket and stumbled and fell over the back of the truck, which was level to the sides with Coal. The deceased’s fall would be about seven feet. Every care was taken on that day and the occurrence was an accident purely and simply.—Walter Thomas Golden, a waterside worker, said the practice when unloading coal was for one basket at a time to come down full, and when it was received the empty basket was sent back. The deceased and witness were working on the same truck, and he corroborated the previous witness’s evidence as to the accident. A full basket was always liable to tilt, and a man had to be ready to avoid it. —After reviewing the evidence, the coroner returned a verdict that death was due to pneumonia following paralysis resulting from injuries accidentally received whilst working discharging coal at Dunedin wharf.