INQUEST

Otago Witness, Issue 3475, 19 October 1920, Page 41

INQUEST

BOY BREAKS HIS NECK. Mr H. Y. Widdowson, S.M., district coroner, held an inquest at Port Chalmera on Sunday in respect to the death on Saturday afternoon of Cecil James Box, a lad of 13 years, who was ldlled by falling off a loaded dray he was driving from Port Chalmers to his father's farm at the Lower Harbour.

Henry William Stephen Box. farmer. Lower Harbour, said deceased was'his'oldest son, and had suffered from bronchitis for 10 years, but had been better during the past two years. Deceased, who lived with his parents at the farm, visited Port Chalmers with his father on Saturday, leaving for home about 2 p.m. Witness was driving a spring dray loaded with manure, and the boy was driving a spring cart.- About half-way home they exchanged vehicles at the lad's request. Witness drove on and the lad followed. At the corner, about one mile and a-half from home, witness saw, the dray and the boy was then on th» dray driving. About five minutes afterwards witness saw the dray had stopped. s"he boy was not then on top, but witness thought the lad had probably dropped something and gone back along the road to look for it. As the dray continued standing for" half an hour witness sent William, a younger son, to the dray to see what was the matter. _ This boy brought the dray along, and witness went down to meet him with a leader to pull the dray up the, hilt to the farm. William told him that Cecil was lying on., the road near the dray evidently dead, and ,he had . removed hint. to the side of the road. Witness hurried along and found Cecil at the roadside as, described, his face covered with mud- and blood, his oilskin coat half off. Witness had previously seen Cecil put op this oilskin coat, over another overcoat, when a shower was passing at an earlier .stage of the trip home. Witness got a vehicle and took the body to Port Chalmers, where' it was examined by Dr Borrie. Deceased at-? tended school. He was a careful driver, and was used to the road.

' William Box described the finding of his brother, who was lying with his head on the wheel track near the wheel of the dray and his feet towards the horse's head. - He backed the horse and lifted his brother to the side of the road. He never moved. His oilskin coat was half off.

Formal evidence was given by Lincoln Garfield Newton, builder, who was working at the farmhouse. He had often seen deceased driving, and the lad seemed "competent. Dr W. H. Borrie deposed to examining the body, which was poorly developed. The face was covered with blood and mud, the mud filling- the mouth and nostrils. There was a cut on the chin, a slight abrasion on the left side of the face, and a bruise on the back of the neck. The-neck- was broken and death must have been instantaneous. The Coroner said that the inference to be drawn from' the evidence was that the boy in taking off his oilskin coat had evidently fallen from the dray and. broken his neck. Death was due to deceased severing the cervical vertebrae by accidentally falling from a dray.