CASUALTIES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3869, 8 May 1928, Page 37

CASUALTIES.

FALL THROUGH A SKYLIGHT. AUCKLAND, May 1. A fatal accident occurred this morning at the new railway workshops which are in course of erection at Otahuhu. Mr Hugh M. Smith, of One Tree Hill, being killed through falling from the root of one of the buildings. Mr Smith was married, and had two children He was commencing his first day/s work on the building, and when on the roof lost his balance and fell through a skylight 27ft on to a concrete floor. He suffered and death waS ACCIDENTALLY SHOT. AUCKLAND, May 2 At the inquest on Alfred Conway, aged 27, single, who was found dead at Papakura with a bullet wound in his head, a verdict of accidental death was returned. It was stated to be obvious that the deceased was reaching up to lift a gun from a shelf when it prematurely exploded. motor and tram collide. AUCKLAND, May 2. A collision between a motor car and a tramcar occurred in Queen street, near the intersection of Fort street, as a result of which a child, aged three years named Nellie Casey, a daughter of Mr E. Casey, divisional superintendent of railways for the North Island, suffered severe injuries to her left leg. The motor car, which was driven by Miss Joyce Johnson, Great South road, was turning to proceed up Queen street when the accident occurred. The car had passed behind a tramcar which was going down Queen street, and when crossing the outward set of rails it was struck broadside on by a tramcar proceeding up the street. The little girl, who was sitting in the front seat on the outside, was crushed by the impact, receiving a compound fracture of the left log. At the Auckland Hospital an operation was performed. The left front wheel of the motor car was damaged, the front axle broken, the left mudguard and running board battered, and the bodywork twisted. None of the other occupants of the car was hurt. BUSH FATALITY. TAUMARUNUI, May 2. An inquest was held concerning the death of John Michalick, who was killed on Monday at Ongarue as the result of a tree which was blown down by the wind falling on him and fracturing his skull. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death. CHINAMAN SUFFOCATED. CHRISTCHURCH, May 2. A Chinaman named Wing Loon was found dead in bed in his laundry premises this morning. The room was full of gas. Wing Loon was lying face downwards on tho bed, and was clad in singlet, shirt, and pyjamas. The gas had come from the laundry iron, the tap of which was still turned on. The deceased was about 24 years of age. At the inquest the Coroner said that death was due to suffocation by gas, but there was no evidence to show if death was accidental or otherwise. A FARMER’S DEATH. CHRISTCHURCH. May 2. While clipping a horse to-day John Addington Wells, farmer, of View Hill, Oxford, suffered fatal injuries by having his head crushed against the side of a stall. The horse reared and came down, trapping Wells and crushing his head badly. Wells got out of the stall and remarked that his head was sore, but went about his ordinary work. Later in the day he became ill and died. A NARROW ESCAPE. Mr James Samson, jun., had a very narrow escape from a serious accident at Merton on Tuesday. As he approached the railway crossing in his car he dropped into second gear, and glanced on each side to see that the line was clear. A horse-drawn cart was iust over the line as Mr Samson came on to it, and when he was right on the rails he saw a train approaching. Mr Samson jammed his foot on the accelerator, and the engine just caught the back of his car, and threw it clean over, damaging it some extent. Mr Samson extricated himself from his machine, breathless, but unhurt. CHILD FATALLY SCALDED. AUCKLAND, May 3. Rita, the two-year-old daughter of Mr E. Hegli, of Papakura, died at Auckland as the result of scalding on Monday. She was being chased by her brother, aged four, when she bumped into a pot which her grandmother was lifting from the fire. The boiling liquid spilled over her face and chest. MOTOR CYCLE ACCIDENT. GISBORNE, May 3. Marcia Margaret Carrington, aged 14, whilst walking along a country road with her mother on Tuesday even ng, was run into and knocked down by a youth, Albert Lamb, on a motor cycle. She sustained concussion of the brain, and died in hospital to-day. FOUND HANGING. DANNEVIRKE, May 3. The body of John Gilmour Smith, a single man, about 60 years old, employed for the past 15 years on Mr G. * N. Pharazyn’s station at Mangatoro, was

found banging from the rafters of his whare. MOTOR CAR FALLS INTO PIT. . CARTERTON, May 3. Heavy rains caused a flood in the Maungatarere River, and water undermined the eastern approach to the White bridge his l £wl Z - a i di was drivin 5 a car "ith his two sisters as passengers, when the lOcid crust collapsed and the car and its occupants were precipitated into a pit 12it wide and from 15ft to 20ft deep, lhe driver and one girl in the front seat werp thrown clear, but the other sister was tossed from the back seat through the windscreen severely cutting her head and bruising her face. She was taken to a private hospital, where her wounds were dressed, after which she was taken OLD SETTLER’S DEATH. NEW PLYMOUTH, May 3. Mr William Hooker, aged 72, a very old settler, who was knocked down by a motor cycle on Sunday night when crossing a street, died in the hospital last night. FARM HAND DROWNED. . . TIMARU, May 3. An inquest was held to-day concerning the death of Robert N. Arter, whose body was recovered from the Kakahu River, near Geraldine. A verdict of accidental drowning was returned. The deceased was a Flock House trainee, aged 18, and was in the employ of a farmer in the Geraldine district. On Friday last he was sent to cut thistles and it is assumed he was drowned through falling in when crossing the river at other than a recognised crossing place. BOY KILLED. MASTERTON, May 4. Jxeville George Ihorner, aged seven years, was fatally injured at Waihora, > I . lrinoa (Martinborough) to-day. lhe lad "as apparently caught in the machinery of a milking plant and whirled round, suffering a fractured skull and a broken leg. He died about two and hours and a-half later. His father is a share-milker on the property. TWO MOTOR CAR FATALITIES t i CHRISTCHURCH, May 4. two deaths following injuries received through collision with motor cars occurred in the Hospital to-day. John Joseph. Rock was crossing the road near his home at 7 p.m. on April 9, when he was hit by a motor car. He died this morn mg. n„£i lt 1 r - ck , Xew, ; bam > a motor cyclist, a p ed l/> who suffered serious injuries to his head and back when he came into collision with a motor car on the Riccarton noon. evenin S. shortly after A CARPZNTER ELECTROCUTED. , distressing fatality occurred on Friday shortly betore noon at the scene of the demolition of the old Post Office in Princes street, when James Crawford, a carpenter, living at Corstorphine road, Uaversham, was electrocuted whilst working near the crusher. lhe actual cause of the electrocution has so tar not been discovered. It appears that immediately beneath the crusher is u temporary structure of woodwork, partly supported by an iion bar. This bar stretches across the face of the clay and rock mound on which the crusher is placed, and is apparently embedded in the masonry at either end. As it is firm and set close to the steep face the bar has been used by workmen to climb up m crxler to reach the crusher. Crawford was seen making his way to the crusher by this means to repair a portion of the chute, when he called out for the power to be turned off, and it was then found tnat he had received a severe shock through the bar. Obviously the unfor tunate man had grasped the bar, having no suspicion that anything was amiss, and ths current gripped him at once. “ Keep away, I am electrocuted,’’ was Crawford’s last plucky cry to his mates as they hastened to his aid. On hearing his cry. his workmate rushed to the switch, where he als > received a shock, but the current had not sufficient strength to harm him. He eventually turned off the switch by giving it a blow with a piee of wood. Craw” ford p,„ around unconscious, and he died in about three minutet ' Dr wrm was summoned, found that nothing could be done for the unfortunate man. Though the bar, through which Crawford had received the fatal shock, had been used for a considerable time by the men as an aid in climbing up and down the mound, on no previous occasion had there been any sign that it was connected with the electric power line. The sudden development of a defect in the wiring system appeared to electrify the whole of the framework, for several other employees received minor shocks. After the power had been cut off the demolition operations ceased in order to permit of a thorough investigation of the plant. An inquest was opened at the Morgue in the afternoon, Mr H. W. Bundle. S.M., sitting as coroner. Sergeant M’Carthy represented the police. Evidence of identification was g. ?n bv Cecil Rawlings Murray. manager of Messrs White and Co., in whose employment Crawford was at the time of his death. The inquest was adjourned to. a date to be fixed later. The deceased was a married man, 55 years of age. KNOCKED DOWN BY TRAIN. A distressing fatality occurred on Saturday night, when Thomas Wilkie, a single man, aged 42 years, who had for about six years been engaged as an attendant at the Seacliff Mental Hospital, was struck by the 10.30 train from Dun-

edin to Mosgiel near the engine sheds, lhe train immediatelj- pulled up, and the ambulance was summoned, but the man died on his way to the Hospital. Wilkie q s,s ter residin-r at Richmond street, bouth Dunedin, and it is presumed that he was going there to spend the night. An inquest will be held at the courthouse this morning. DEATH AT RACES. Immediately after the first race at Forbuiy Park on Saturday a man named William Prentice collapsed on the lawn and died in a few moments. Dr Groves and Dr Harty, who were on the course, do» e J lde^h l T tlce ’ J but i. nothin g 00111(1 b ° a oo lhe deceased, who was a married man, 32 years of age, resided at 61 Macandrew road. He was an ironmoulder by trade. He was accompanied at the races by his mother and an aunt. Prentice had always been considered a healthy man, and his sudden death is attributed to heart failure. An inquest is not considered necessary. CAR FALLS OVER BANK. A Chevrolet car skidded and went over a bank at Sawyers’ Bay on Sunday morning, falling a distance of 40ft. John Kearney, of Malvern street, Woodhaugh. was driving and his back was so severely injured that he was wheeled on a stretcher to the Port Chalmers Cottage Hospital by Constable Bush. Frederick Nelson, the only other occupant of the car, escaped without injury other than a severe shaking, and was able to return to his home in Dunedin. Both men were proceeding to Port Chalmers to work on the repairs to the whaler, C. A. Larsen. A MIRACULOUS ESCAPE. WANGANUI, May 6. A car, which was proceeding towards vV anganui this morning, plunged over the Wangaehu Hill and fell 100 ft. The two occupants, a man named Symes and Miss Pearson, were thrown clear, having a miraculous escape, though both are now in hospital suffering from shock and bruises. The car was wrecked. DEATH UNDER ANAESTHETIC. CHRISTCHURCH, May 5. Patrick Herbert Newnham, aged 18, died in the Hospital .while under an anaesthetic for an operation to amputate his leg. He was injured on Thursday when his motor cycle collided with a motor car on the Rie ’