FATAL ACCIDENT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23599, 8 September 1938, Page 3

FATAL ACCIDENT

MAN STRUCK BY VAN OPEN VERDICT RETURNED An inquest into the death of Samuel Perkins, 56 years of age, living at 424 King street, who died in the Dunedin Hospital on August 13 after having been knocked down by a motor van in King street the same day, was held in the Police Court yesterday. Mr H. W. Bundle. S.M., was the coroner. Sergeant Boulton conducted the inquiry, Mr C. J. L. White represented the driver of the van, and Mr C. L. Calvert appeared for the relatives of the deceased.

Dr E. F. D’Ath, pathologist at the Dunedin Public Hospital, detailed the injuries received by the deceased, and said that he was of the opinion that the deceased died from shock following extensive injuries to the body. Analysis of the stomach contents indicated that the deceased had consumed an amount of alcohol sufficient to render the average person drunk in the sense that this word was applied to a pedestrian. , ’ . . , To Mr White witness said that a high percentage of alcohol was present. If it were beer it would mean a very considerable quantity of beer. Rose Perkins, the widow of the deceased, said that on the day of the accident her husband had been home all day until 4 p.m., when he left with her brother, Mclntyre. There was >no drink consumed in the house before they left home. Soon after 6.30 p.m. she heard that her husband had been seriously injured, and shortly afterwards was informed of his death. Her husband was a healthy man, and his eyesight and hearing were good. ~ ... Constable Linnane gave evidence that he had taken measurements at the scene of the accident shortly after it had occurred. The distance from the point where the deceased was struck and that where the van was stopped was 28 feet.

Some Liquor Consumed Daniel Arthur Mclntyre,- a labourer employed by the Public Works Department, said that on August 13 he went to the deceased’s house in King street at about 4 p.m. He went with the deceased to the Bowling Green Hotel, where they stayed until shortly before 6 p.m. Both he and the deceased had liquor, each having three pints of beer. When they left the hotel they stood talking at the corner of Albany street, and then walked through the Museum grounds to King street. The deceased s house was about 50 or 60 yards away on the opposite side of the street. Witness and the deceased proceeded about 10 feet on to the roadway, going straight across, when the deceased was knocked down by the truck, Witness saw the truck, which was passing another car going in the same direction, and jumped back, but the deceased was caught, although witness called out a warning to him. When witness first saw the truck it was about 10 feet away and was travelling at between 40 and 45 miles an hour, in his estimation. He had driven a truck himself. He considered that both he and the deceased were sober. To Mr White, witness said that three beers would not make the deceased drunk. They had had no liquor before going to the hotel. Donald Campbell Shaw, a caretaker, said he was leaving his home in King Street at about 6.20 p.m„ when he saw a motor truck passing him. It was not travelling very fast. He saw no other traffic on the street. He did not see the accident- himself; but he was positive that no other vehicle in addition to the motor truck had passed him before he heard a cry behind him. Passenger’s Evidence ’

Gavin Rodger Pollock, a carrier, said he was a passenger in the van driven by Vickers on the evening of August 13. When the van was approaching the Museum it was travelling at a little over 20 miles an hour. The van was passed by a motor car at the intersection of Union and King streets. The van did not pass any other vehicle itself. Witness saw the deceased and his companion when they were about a chain away. The driver slackened speed, but the right-hand side of the front of the van struck the deceased. Just before he was struck the deceased hesitated a moment and then took a quick step forward. The deceased was carried along for a little distance by the truck. Witness travelled fairly frequently with Vickers, and had found him to be a careful driver. To Mr White, witness said that if the two men had stopped together the driver of the van could have gone past them, but he could not avoid hitting one or other of them when they separated.

To Mr Calvert, witness said that, when the deceased hesitated, it seemed to him an indication that the men were going to stop and that the van could go past. Richard James Vickers, a milk vendor. the driver of the van, said that he passed no traffic when approaching Union street, but a car passed him on the intersection of Union street and King street. He was travelling at about 20 to 25 miles an hour. He saw the deceased and his companion when they were about a chain away, on the concrete portion of the road about seven feet from the kerb. Witness swerved to the right to pass them when he was about eight feet away from the men, but the next thing he knew the deceased was right in front of the truck. He applied his brakes, but the deceased was struck by the right-hand side of the radiator. After (he impact the truck travelled six to eight feet. Visibility was rather smoky at the time of the accident. Witness had been driving for 10 years and had had no previous accidents. He had had his brakes relined on August 2. and they were adjusted again a few days before the accident. To Mr White, witness said that on August 2, Millis and Son relined his hand and footbrakes, and machined out the right-hand rear brake drum. On August 8 the hand brake was adjusted, and he assumed the car was in good mechanical order. Brakes Inefficient

Chief Traffic Inspector Avery gave evidence of having tested the brakes on the van on August 15. The tests showed that when the van was travelling at 20 miles an hour, the foot-hrake stopped it in 52 feet Sin, showing 26 per cent, inefficiency, and the handbrake stopped the van in 75 feet, an inefficiency of 14 per cent. At 25 miles an hour the foot-brake stopped the vehicle in 121 ft 4in, and the handbrake in 139 ft 2in. showing inefficiencies of 100 per cent, and 30 per cent, respectively. To the coroner, witness said that if the vehicle had been travelling at 40 to 45 miles an hour it could not possibly have been stopped in 28 feet with the brakes in the condition revealed by the test. Anything could have happened to the brakes between the day of the accident and the day of the test. Constable Foster said he tested the brakes of the motor truck the day after the accident. At 25 miles an hour the foot-brake stopped the car in 77 feet, and at 28 miles an hour the car was stopped In 135 feet and 145 feet In consecutive tests. The hand-brake stopped the car in 169 feet when it was tx'avelling at 25 miles an hour. He could not obtain a skid with the brakes, which were inefficient. To Mr White, witness said that with new linings brakes were subject to sudden changes of efficiency. Using both foot and hand brakes the car was stopped in 73 feet when travelling at 25 miles an hour. The coroner said he was unable to see that the statement made by the witness Mclntyre that the van had passed another car just before the accident was a true indication of the position. He did not propose to discuss the evidence in any detail, owing to the fact that from the tests taken in the two days succeeding the accident the brakes were found to be inefficient. The driver of the van had a certificate of efficiency, and the brakes had

been relined on August 2 and tested on August 8. He could not refrain from expressing the view that the deceased, unfortunately, was not in a fit state to cross a public road, The evidence of Dr D’Ath showed that, and the reasonable view of the witness Mclntyre's evidence was that he was unable to assist the court by reaching a proper conclusion regarding the conditions leading up to the accident. The van was pulled up in 28 feet after the irqpact, and the evidence of the driver was that he wag travelling at about 25 miles an hour. His verdict would be that the deceased died from shock, following_ extensive injuries to the body, received when he was struck by a motor van driven by Richard James Vickers in: King street on August 13.