MOTOR FATALITY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23369, 8 December 1937, Page 5

MOTOR FATALITY

DEATH OF DUNEDIN MAN EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST NO INDICATION OF UNDUE SPEED (Special to Daily Times) OAMARU, Dec. 7. An inaucst into the death of Terence Ralph Scott Gaiger, of Dunedin. who succumbed to injuries received in a motor accident near Maheno on the night of October 19. was held before Mr A. W. Woodward (coroner) at Oamaru to-day. The deceased was one of three occupants of a car driven by Mr Philip Edwin Ruston. of Dunedin, and was severely injured when the car struck a telegraph pole at the Maheno railway crossing. Summing up at the conclusion of the inquest to-day, the coroner said that in his opinion there was no excessive speed, and everything appeared 1,0 be in favour of the driver. He thought the accident was due to an error of judgment... The following, yerdiet was returned:—" The death of Gaiger was caused by injuries received m an accident at the railway crossing near Maheno, involving a motor car in which the deceased was a passenger, when returning to Dunedin on.the night of October 19, the accident, in my opinion, being due to an error of judgment on the part of the driver. Senior Sergeant McGregor conducted the inquiry for the police, and Mr C J- L- White, of Dunedin, ap™>nrpH for the driver of the car. Pe D r r ed Fit f z°g r erald said he had attended the deceased at the scene of the accident Gaiger's injuries consisted of a bad y lacerated head and forehead. He also suffered thigh juries. In witness's opinion death was due to laceiation of the brain. Passenger's Version John Montgomery Richmond, of Dunedin, stated that on October 19 he hadl travelled to Oamaru in a car driven by Ruston to attend a boxing contest at Oamaru. He had had no Uouornor had the others of the parly. At the conclusion of the boxing they had set out for Dunedin, Ruston driving the car. They approached the railway crossing at Maheno at about miles an hour. The visibility was lood but he did not see the crossing until he was right on t and thought the railway line was the road. He did not know there was a railway line in the vicinity. Ruston was driving on the comet side of the road and the lights of the car were quite good. He remembered passing a car about half a mile from the scene of the accident, and at time they were travelling faster than at the timevof the collision with the telegraph pole He did not think Ruston would have got over the crossing, even if his speed had been slower, for he mistook the line for the road, and did not notice his mistake until he was on the line Witness was thrown out ot the car by Rober? Samuel Wood, of Reidston said that on the night of the accident he was riding a bicycle across the Kakanui bridge when he noticed the lights of a car approaching. He hearo the crash when the car hit the pole, and he found the car in a position practically parallel with the railway lines. He had never had difficulty in getting over the crossing himself, but he was very familiar with the road. Ernest Alexander Fort, of Dunedin, said that he also travelled by car to Oamaru to see the boxing match. He had seen both Richmond and Ruston at the boxing, when they were both perfectly sober. While he was proceeding home to Dunedin Ruston's car had passed him about a mile or a mile and a-half north of the crossing. At the time he was passed witness was travelling at about 35 miles an hour, and Ruston's car was travelling at from 35 to 40 miles an hour. The bitumen was perfectly dry, and it was a good night for driving. _ He considered that if' the. conditions were good a driver should; have no trouble in negotiating: .the bend at the crossing. V' ■" ''' "V „ , Evidence of Driver

Philip Edwin Rustoh,.the driver of •the car, said that :he was travelling at 30 miles an hour, and accelerated to pass Fort's car, but not to more than 40 miles an hour, and, after, passing the other car, he dropped back to his usual speed. He found the visibility quite good, his lights were in good order, and his car had a warrant of fitness. The lights were showing up the road for abort. 100 yards ahead of him. He was on the correct side of the road, and when he came to the crossing he went up a slope, and. when at the top of the crossing, his lights were shining up into the air. He caught sight of what.he thought was the road on his right side. He jvent to turn to the right, and when he saw he was wrong he tried to swing to the left. . He must have struck the cattle stop and lost control of the car, which was thrown on to the pole. Just at this time he was travelling at about 35 miles an hour. He had never driven over the road before, but had been driving a car for five or six years. He was in no hurry to get back to Dunedin, as he had to stay up till 3 o'clock when he got home in any case. Evidence of having, attended at the scene of the accident and having taken measurements was given by Constable McCormick. Witness said the corner was a bad one for drivers who did not know the road. There had recently been another accident on this corner, when a car had hit the same post while travelling south.