SHUNTING FATALITY

Patea Mail, 26 June 1936, Page 3

SHUNTING FATALITY

MAH CUT INTO PIECES

WALKED IN FRONT OF TRAIN

labile helpless, horrified spectators watohod Michael Ryan, aged 61, a married .man, of Mangere, was knocked down by a shunting train ami cut to pieces at New Market railway station.

A train which had come from Swanson was being shunted backwards before going to Auckland, when Mr. Ryan was seen to walk in front of it 1 . His attention seemed riveted on a train which was standing at the platform and towards which he was walking quite unaware of the. train which was being backed from the area which was known as “The Triangle” at! tho junction of the northern line. A porter called to him, but apparently he did not hear, and he walked in front of the moving carriages, the whole train passing over him blcfotre irailwaJymen nearby could attract the attention of tho engine driver and have the train stopped. Mr. Ryan, who worked at Captain Cook Brewery, had been in the habit of taking a short-eut down a right-of-way from Broadway and across alio lines to the platform where ho usually caught the train homo. He had on occasions stopped and waited while trains were being shunted, and consc quently his actions caused no surprise until the train was practically on him.