UNKNOWN

Otago Witness, Issue 3019, 24 January 1912, Page 38

UNKNOWN

A NARROW ESCAPE.

At 10 a.m. -on th© 22nd tho members of the Dunedin Drainage Board left the Post Office with the intention of paying one of their periodical visits of inspection to the city drainage works in progress of construction, but the party bad only reached (ho vicinity of the first works when an accident happened to the leading car, one of its occupants (Mr J. S. Douglas)) being rather badly injured, and it was at once decided to “abandon the projected inspection for that day at least. The members of the board who mad© the trip- were Messrs J. Arid© (chairman), .J, J. Marlow, <f. S. Douglas, J. tSmall, W. T. M'Farlano, and Dr Fulton, Mr A. B linger (engineer), Mr G. Esther (secretary), and two reporters. In the front seat of the hint car were the driver (Mr F. Formirigor) and Mr Marlow, and in the back seat Messrs Douglas and Sim-, ger and Dr Fulton. This car turned into the steep street known as Lccicharnpton court, which runs up> the hill just near the railway overbridge at the Catisbrook Ground, and the chauffeur no doubt attempted to drive further up the gradient of 1 in 6 than ho otherwise would have, owing to the fact that Dr Fulton is suffering from a temporary lameness, and finds a difficulty in walking at present. However, tile car mads good progress up the road, and on reaching its destination the driver pulled up and tried to turn it so lliat it would be straight across the street, but on applying the brakes to assist him in getting the machine round it was found they oould not bold the car on tho steep siding, and it immediately started to run back. Mr Slrnger at one© saw tho danger, and safely jumped out on to the road. The car at one© gathered impetus, and then Mr Douglas jumped out from the opposite side to that frown which Mr Slinger had alighted. Ho fell as ho landed and the front wheel passed over his left hip. Immediately after the driver, who had kept quite cool, wisely backed the car to the footpath, which it surmounted, and cut right through a paling fence and heavy maotocarpa hedge, being thus brought to a standstill. Mr Douglas managed to stagger across the road to the opposite footpath, whence he was carried to a neighbouring house, and attended to by Dr Fulton, when it was ascertained that, fortunately, no bones were broken. The injured man. however, was found to have been badly bruised all over his body, bis legs suffering most, while he had also sustained a sever© shock. An ambulance was at one© telephoned for, and Mr Douglas conveyed home. The driver, Mr Marlow, and Dr Fulton, who stayed in the car, got off without a scratch. A view of the scene of th© accident shows what a narrow escape from a raoro serious accident those in the car bad. Th© vehicle just grazed an iron telegraph post standing on the footpath, and now nests against this post, while had it gone on down tire stoop street it would probably have toppled over a small bank at the foot of the court and landed on a bouse, or it might oven have crashed into th© second car, which had just turned into the street. As for tire runaway car itself, two of the tyres wore wrenched off, th© glass wind shrold was smashed to bits, and the rest ol the bodywork otherwise knocked about.