A REMARKABLE ESCAPE

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17147, 2 January 1930, Page 12

A REMARKABLE ESCAPE

MOTOR-CAR WRECKED COLLISION AT MATAWHERO The driver and three passengers in a five-seater car which became an almost total wreck after colliding with another car on the main south road yesterday afternoon had a remarkable escape from serious injury or death. One passenger, Miss Dorothy Johnson, 18, of Vogel street, was rendered unconscious, but it is understood that her condition is not very serious, and the driver of the ear, Mr. John Sheridan, and file other two occupants escaped practically unhurt, beyond minor cuts and abrasions. The vehicle is believed to have somersaulted three times, and presented the appearance of a tangled mass of wreckage when it came to rest at the side of the road, the hood being torn to shreds, and the bodywork twisted and broken. Mr. .Sheridan, who had with him Mr. Pat Mooney, Miss Johnson, and another young lady, was proceeding from the direction of town, having hben asked to convey Mr. lleeney and his two companions to the Patutahi sports meeting, 'and the accident occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Mr. ft. G. Walker, of Wellington, accompanied by Mr. V. N. J’iesse, also of Wellington, was driving a saloon model ear, belonging to Mr. It. W. (J. Lye, of Nelson street, Hastings, froni Gisborne to Matawhcro, and when lie reached Mr. W. Judd’s farm about half a mile on the Gisborne side of the Bridge Hotel, he commenced to turn in at a gateway on the righthand side of the road, after changing into second gear and signalling his intention. Mr. Sheridan, who states that he was travelling at 25 miles an hour, overtook the other ear, and applied his brakes when he saw that it was turning, hut could not avoid a collision. Mr. Sheridan’s ear merely tipped the right-hand front wheel and mudguard of the other vehicle, but the impact was sufficient to affect the driver’s control, and the car swerved to the right and to the left, finally capsizing and somersaulting three times. The driver and Mr. lleeney and the other girl were practically unhurt, but Miss Johnson, who was thrown out on to the roadway, was rendered unconscious for a time, and was taken to hospital by a passing motorist. The ear driven by Mr. Walker was damaged only to the extent of dents in one mudguard and the rim of the right-hand front wheel.