CHARGE AGAINST MOTORIST.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLV, Issue 14667, 26 July 1918, Page 4

CHARGE AGAINST MOTORIST.

THE TARUHERU ACCIDENT. , mmm^m Harold Mace Thompson^ ' agent, r changed with causing actual bodily harm . to Florence Lillian' Jackson, '.of Taru-', heru, under such circumstances that if death had been caused he would havo been guilty of manslaughter, appeared at the Magistrate's Court to-day, before . Messrs. Johnston and A Gl Beere, j.' s p fc .',■■•■•■ ■■'■' -■■■■ -..•■«».■ f Mr.- Burnard appeared for accused, and Detective McLeod conducted '.^-tho "case fpr&the police. . •.. - :<■ ":{JohiT Miller ' Jackson, shepherd, snthe, employ: of Nelson Bros:, ■ said he;\ remembered hfs daughter Lillian leaving': -:■ forHown on>.the night m question. She; ' was'in company^ with her two brothers,/ James Alexander, arid Oswald John Mil- 1. ler. They were v walking, and jweritj,. through Nelson • Bros.'s main . entrance^ on tp Gladstone roa'6, H^e next saw hisjfs daughter at the public hospital on ; Srin4^ day, the following day; \ suffering frpni-. injuries. -•, " ! " "•"- ■;*•*:' Rob. Henry Synott, draughtsman, tho Public ' Works Office, produced V plan of Upper Gladstone rdadi, v fl^»; measurements of places indicatedSbya De^t|^6J McLeod. 7\ : \ James ' Alexander Jackson (brother of^ the injured girl), aged '.14, thafci on Saturday night, June 29th, m com-v, pany with his sister and brother John^he left home about 6vp.m. to -come,'tovtown, going out through" tlie wo\^|enVto the main entrance. ' They 'walked;, straight towards town on the left-liaipKl;. side of the road, not. far from, ,thol ditch. They were walking \one behlncl the other, his sister leading, witries&.being m the middle. When they, -jgofc a distance along the road they heard, the sound of car 'coming towards, town fromMakaraka way; There was riofhorn sounded. He looked back, andhis brother ran towards the ditch. Hist/ sister followed his brother^ towards theditch. He (witness) stood stilL Wheri. he first noticed the car it was ; coming straight behind them. Before his sisteuy could get into the ditch the car struckher. The car went on a short way. Me>> thought it went over her. He whistled on the car, which pulled up and backed: to where his sister was lying. Ths man m the car said : "Whr*'s' the mat?' ter " He could not say if .iccused ..was the man. He (witness) "Yotfys run oyer this girl." There werb two or? three riien' m" the' car, and. someone said, "Who is .she?"- Witness corild , not say who was driving. One said; V "Run for the doctor,'' and he (.witness^, went te Frederick's store iat the corner., of Lytton road. He telephoned for {* doctor, and when he returned StO wj^BreV the accident took place, the caryfhad gone and; lus .ssistey ; also. . inhere were, no other vehicles, horses or cattle; -On the- read when the car struck the girl. He did not see any> other persons walking pn the road. He jpointed out ou wallong together. They nad, he s£id,-. ' himiself' were walking, :just Moff the» metalled portion of the road and . Wt. on the grass. .The car had both, b'^hts on ; .they were not very bright. . > $jhe; car was travelling at a fast speed.:. Mr Burnard : How f ar, f rofn Jhe edge of the ditch were you walking'" before you heard the car? — It could not say. Questioned by Mr . Burnard, ' witness said they "walked* less than, "100 yards parallel with the ditch. He supposed they would be walking about four yards • from the ditch. When he noticed the oar he. turned round. The car. was < going so fast that he could, riot state the point at /which he first saw it. ; s Tfc would not be 20, yprds away. His home, was not. situatext r on, the lane, but was on the other -side of the river. They were not walking' single file when they left home? As a matter of caut^oft . they wialke'd m single file along Glad- - stone road. There were no vehicles m tho lane, and therefore no need for caution there. It was because of vehicles online noa^ .th^t they walked" single file. ' Ho gave vehicles plenty ,plf room on the road. It: was better, walking between the metalled portion •'; than: near the ditch. H&. wa» .not ; |ure they were, not walking! on. the 'metaL. He could not say if they vwere walking side by side. Ho had spoken to his people about the accident. Ho hod heard" the case talked aboinV and Irad told! his people how they were. . Avalking and where, wjaen^the accident, , happened. They had never nientioried , what, he - was ,to say m ? H«»: brother had run to the ditch "when hex i caught sight of the; car,, arid his. sisteif ran, ' too. She did not get ' as ' near • t&» ditch as tho brother. v ■ '• Mr Burnard : Isn't that more consist-' i e,nt with brother and sister walk--ing iii. a line with you? — No, sir, •:¥^7-were-walkuig'pne behlrid the other. ?;'•"?'■ Continuing^ witness said they Usually walked across the paddocks, , but v rain had fallen, and they went down the; lane. The short cut across the paddocki' took them on to ' Gladstone road a good way f urther ' down; r He/ did^rio^tta' towards the centre of the road, but stood still. It was a pretty dark night. Tho lights of the car were ftot 'very powerful. Mr Burnard: Would the oarxbe going , as fast as 12 miles an "hour?-- Oh» faster than ithat. ■-.* Witness said they faced the car, $n}J, : could flpt really judge the speed, . as;, ii . approached too fast. "; '£ In answer to a- question by Detective M^eo^ witness said he had show^v Detect^o McLeod the spots where tUey. , were Avalking on ihe wjsfht of tlie wx\-. den Viand the SuiiQay "mg^iung followif •■ ing. y He remembered aktfp'p63Eiiting out the ihark of -;a;heel^ >^rl£i^ -Ijiad , been" Tho: roa^Jc w^s dir *!thV sand', 1 M 4, J? saw.ius jsi&to^lyjug sand ciQs^^to weV..'df,'^'^af^ , '^^llsdr.' h«u|' pa3s'e,d. ; .: , Hp:- jwas V;tejgnd his sister; hut'.could' riot -^ ' was straight m line behind d^^Tho^,, were „not oJii'^^.yneW:';;''T)|^': ! .Bjp^b^ h| showed Vas,' as neair as he could judge, the place wherS they were walking.' -j^v., v^' \> In arisirer to Mr Burnard, witness said the car was on his right-hand side, that 'was to say between himself and the. ditch. The position he had markedbri the plan was where they were whea-t-he car passed. ( r <■' Oswald John MilJbr Jackson,, 'l| years of age, brother of the girl, sai| huj sister and brother .were with bini. when he left' home about '6 o'clock t? come to town. He .gave ; corrobbra^yW evidence regardiiig their obtaining access to Gladstone road. They were walking between metal* and grass; "■B& heard the car coming, but did not hear a horn sounded. It swerved to the. lew. and he then * i-aii " to the ditch. HS. sistei' was then m front of ;liis brother and himself. He did not see what Jus sister .did or /where ,-she Trent. : , He 'dij^ not actually see the car strike her; 3© saw her afterithe car had run over hw and the, car. had gone oh. His brptW had been walking between his sister ana' him. He. could not see any other . vehicles or traffic of ahy kind on Wb . road, . .^ Mr* Burnard: Were; yottis walking, sincrle file down the lane?— No, wo : '3sp& walking togetlier. They had;, he,fiai|^walked together on the road bo fo4^ Sometimea they liad walked side hy side. They saw rip ,- sbraffibr yas' tliey talked into Gladstone road; ; \> Mr Bui'nard: Didn't, you continue ys> walk together'as you cariie out of iho lane?-No. v Why foot?— I don'o know. / Msr brother and sister ,w,ere walking quiok&r than I was, and I came on just behind. He added that he : thought " ; his sM|it& must have been walking faster;- ithaii^t brother, as they were., not .walkilig together.' "' *" "' . ' ''! ' : . '''''.■ *'-''.;.■ ■'!, Mr Burnard : Weil, I w^ll pttt -it' '^^ way : Did your father- afid brother dtecuss the question of darinages? iv Witness:' I could not cay. Were tliey .talking of how yott wexo walking?— Yes. £ Doi -you :knotw of anything else : is&y were talking about?— l cannot i-emeSn-beiv ■■" ' "'.''-'' . ■•'."■ -y---'y- ■. . ;>* H^yeri't you a very good memory ?^fl[ don't know. & "-How far were you wiaflMng f roTri' 'tlie ditch when the car cam© up?—: Abojufc % 11 feet. They had no reason that ho knew of for walking sintde file. They were noi racing one another. They, not spoken much of ,the aooiclent. only • of the facts of the accident. Bo did riot eeo what hig brother, did, wheu htf . 4 S '■'■■-■

:»ess) ran for the ditch. *He noticed tho 3car pass himself by about a foot or 4ftvo on his right." > * George Coleman, 16 years, of age, said lie Jived af Makaraka, and was employed atf Nelson- Bros.' freezing works. He the night of the accident, 'tin hen he and his brother Albert were xjoming to to\vn between 6 and 6.15 p.m. | They were walking along the road on| left-hand side, and when near the racecourse gates they heard a nm,tor car Coming towards town from Makaraka. No horn was sounded. He. did not look Ijiack. His brother pulled' him over the #oad, or he would have been run over. CHe would } be about lif yards off from the metal, on tlie sand, about Bft from the ditch. After the car passed them it did not keep a straight course, but zigzagged. The car was travelling very fast, at a speed anything between 10 and 30 -miles an, hour. After the car passed they walked on to town, and «arae upon the girl Jackson lying on the road about 400 yards from where ; the car passed him/. The car was backing towards where the gH was lying. She was put m tho oar. He could not say if accused "was one of the men m the car as it was dark. Neither did he notice hott inaiiy men .were iri the car. No other car or vehicle ihlad passed hini between tlie time the car m question passed him ajud when he came upon the girl. No other car had passed him sinoe leaving his home and coming upon the girl. He lived opposite the cemetery. He had not noticed amy vehicles going out from town. Ctass-examined by Mr Barnard, witness said lie could see by the tail light the course tlie car was taking, and tliat it was going across the road. John Ross, medical superintendent oi Gisbomo Public Hospital, deposed to beiiig called out to a motor car at the entrance to the hospital. He found there two men trying to get a girl, out of the back of the car. The accused was one of those men. They were pulling her about m the endeavor to get her out of the car, and on" goring to assist he ■ found that her leg was. caught m the; foot-rest behind the front seat. That leg on examination was found. to be broken m two places. Her appearance j suggested being just dumped 1 into the car, and there was apparently ho attempt made to make her oorauortable. The girl was removed to the ward. Her right thigh bone was found to be frac-| tured m two places ; there was a ragged j wound on the outside of the right knee; | the left collarbone was broken, and the; right ( ear partially torn; she was bleed- j ing at; the* riiouth; and .there were numer-j ous*grat;es*ph'''-her'-faee, tabids, and head, and she" was unconscious. He ordered the accused to remain until the police arrived. He would say tlie accused was' under the influence of drink- when hej (witness) saw him. In 'answer to Mr Burnard, witness j said accused and his companions wero apparently considerably upset by what had happened. It was certainly a wise thing for the girl to be brought to the hospital as quickly as possible. Detective^ 'Method asked if accused and his companions' ■methods of pulling the girl about jn... getting her out of the car were indicative of ' their being '.under the influence of liquor. •'.. Mr Burnard: I object to tfliat question. Albert Goleinan, aged 14, said he lived with his parents at Makaraka. He gave evidence ,pn similar lines to .that of his brother as" to coming^ to towm ori the bight m question. They were walking on the left-hand ; side. - When, nearing the racecourse gates they heard a, car coming to town, from Makaraka. He looked back to see which way it was coming. It was so close tliat he could not describe the course it was taking, but it appeared! to be coming towards; the ditch. As a matter of fact, it came ; tOwards'<"theVditoh', and witness had to pull his i •brother out of the way. After! it passed it took a zig-zag course. They I .continued on to town, and! found . tjie .girl aa his brother had described. He 'could ;not .tell if accused was one of the men who were m the oar. • He could not remember seeing any, other vehicles on . the road. Cross-examined by Mr Burnard, witness said he could see by. tlie tail lamp only, the course of the car after it passed. ..'"■ Arnold Ernest Wilkinson, taxi driver, .deposed to going to Upper Gladstone .roacTin company with Detective McLeod on Sunday, June 30. Ho saw the spotpointed out by James Alex. Jackson, at '^which -ho alleged his sister had been run over. Ho saw the marks where the car dropped hei-, and wlitere the car subseqently pulled up. That was a distance ; of 183 feet. He considered . that a car would have to be going very , "fast to go that distance after am acci- > dent. >He would say about 20 miles ai* 'hour. Judging by the marks m tlie 'road of the route taken by tlie car, ho .considered the car had swerved. Questioned by Mr Burnard, witness said a car would swerve m an attempt lo avoid running into other people. Jle could not' say' that- the riiarke were the marks of a particular car, but he could say that the car had gone a, distance, stopped, and backed. When, ihe car w&s*:gbmg^'forwaid : the back tyres, nori6kid_ treads, would show, but when reversing the front tyre marks would show. The speed of 20 miles an hour would he'V reasonable one to drive along Gladstone road, even at night. . ' ' | N In answer to Beteotive McLeod, witness said -while he and Detective Me-< Leod were '©ramming* the s apoi;, accused ; came alofag. He was shown tho spot, and did not deny tliat was where he pulled up, but said he «did not know he had gone so far. He (witnessjliad seen the tyres oh accused's car. Tlie' front tyres were "plain, arid the left-hand back tyro .was a non-skid, the other being plain. The marks at the scene of the accident were similar to what would be made by the tyres of the car. In some ■parts they were indistinct, but were plainly visible iri other parts. I At tins stage the Court adjourned until 2 p.m. .