CRASH OVER BANK

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25430, 11 January 1944, Page 2

CRASH OVER BANK

VAN OUT OF CONTROL SIX AIRMEN IN HOSPITAL Thirteen members of the Royal New Zealand Air Force stationed at the Taieri aerodrome were involved in a sensational motor accident in the city at 5.30 last evening. They were the occupants of an air force motor van which was proceeding from the aerodrome to the evening sports meeting at the Caledonian Ground. The van' got out of control and hurtled down over the ramp in Lower Canongate for a distance of 40 feet, coming to rest badly battered at the foot of the steps near Speight’s branch of New Zealand Breweries, Ltd. All the occupants of the van were removed to the Dunedin Public Hospital, but only siv of them remained in the institution, with more or less serious injuries, the other seven being discharged two hours later. The Injured Men The following is the list of the injured men who remained in hospital:— A.C.2 S. Cavanagh, fractured left leg. L.A.C. Leslie Keeller, suspected fractured spine. Corporal H. Henning, head injuries. Corporal Ernest Smart, injury to right hip. Pilot Officer L D. J. Whatman, slight head injuries. A.C.2 W. D. Riley, suspected fractured rib. 1 An extraordinary feature of the accident was that the somersaulting van passed over the head of a man who was walking up the steps leading to Canongate. It is stated that the vehicle missed him only by inches. Plunged Through Railings

The van was driven by Leslie Keeller, and most of the occupants were to have competed in the various events at the athletic meeting which was held last evening under the auspices of the Otago Amateur Athletic Association. The van was proceeding down Rattray street when, it is” surmised, some mechanical trouble developed. In normal circumstances it would have continued straight down Rattray street,. but the driver apparently considered that he would have a better opportunity of regaining control of the vehicle by turning into Lower Canongate, which leads upniil from the right-hand side of Rattray ,street, near the factory of Messrs Scoular and Chisholm, Ltd. This thoroughfare, which is always a difficult one for motorists, has a steep grade where it joins Rattray street. About 30 yards from Rattray street there is a sharp bend, and it was there that the van plunged through the railings of the ramp and hurtled down over the Canongate steps, finishing end up just off the footpath. In .its wild career it grazed a telegraph pole and smashed the roadsign on the pole. . It also carried with it a large portion of the railings of the ramp, a big piece being embedded in the radiator of the van. Somersaulted Twice

From where the vehicle left the roadway to the place where it came to rest is a distance of 40 feet, and according to an eye-witness, the van somersaulted twice in its flight Passers-by who rushed to the scene were relieved to find that the majority of the occupants had suffered comparatively little injury. Ambulances, doctors, and police were sent for, and within a short time after the accident the injured men were being taken to the Hospital, where arrangements had already been made for their admission.

One of the occupants of the van said that the driver made a plucky attempt to save his fellow airmen after he made the alarming discovery that something had gone wrong mechanically with the vehicle. “We ail had marvellous escapes,” he would have been a real tragedy had we hit the telegraph post when we plunged wildly down the bank. We must have somersaulted at least twice.”