RIVERSDALE FATALITY

Southland Times, Issue 21896, 23 December 1932, Page 8

RIVERSDALE FATALITY

DEATH OF E. J. McDONALD. INQUEST HELD AT GORE. An inquest into - the circumstances surrounding the death of Eric Johnston McDonald, who died at the Gore Public Hospital on December 13 from injuries received in a collision at Riversdale on December 9, was held before the District Coroner, Mr A. Martin, J.P., at Gore yesterday. Mr R. B. Bannerman watched proceedings ■on behalf of Mr H. Cromie, driver of the motor car, and Mr A. L. Dolamore appeared for the relatives of the deceased. Dr Grater, house surgeon at the Gore Public. Hospital, gave evidence of McDonald’s admission to the hospital and as to his injuries. When admitted to the hospital at 1.45 p.m. on December 9, McDonald was suffering from a fractured skull, bruising of the right upper eyelid and slight bruising on the left upper eyelid. There were abrasions on the face, hands, legs and right thigh. On December 10 he complained of a pain in the back of his neck. This indicated commencing meningitis. He gradually became worse two days later and died at 1.45 p.m. on December 13. She attended a post mortem examination which disclosed evidence of meningitis and a fracture of the skull. The fracture of the skull would be consistent with direct violence. Death was due to meningitis caused by fracture of the skull. To Mr Bannerman: The injuries would be consistent with a heavy fall on a gravel road or with any other hard substance.

Richard Ernest Clarke, labourer, residing at Riversdale, said that about 11 a.m. on December 9 he was close to Matthews’ store at Riversdale. The store was at a corner at the junction of two roads. He noticed a motor cyclist coming along the road travelling north. When witness first saw him he was distinctly on his wrong side of the road. It was difficult to form an estimate of the speed at which the cyclist was travelling, but he should say that it would be about 20 miles an hour. By the time he reached the corner he might have been on his correct side. A car was approaching from an easterly direction travelling very slowly. When witness first saw the car it was on its correct side. The car and the cycle reached the corner at the same time and a collision occurred. Just before the car reached the corner he saw that it was on its wrong side and on reaching the corner it appeared to straighten up towards the centre line of the road. The collision occurred about the middle of the road. He could not say whether the cyclist swerved or not. The driver of the car was Cromie. As a result of the collision the cyclist was injured and was conveyed to the hospital. Both Cromie and McDonald were perfectly sober and neither of them was driving recklessly. To Mr Bannerman: Cromie’s car came over the railway line at about 10 miles an hour or even less, and he had slowed still further at the corner. When Cromie was opposite the railway house at the corner and was on his wrong side, his next turn was to the left. Witness knew that for the past six or eight months there had been a dog at that corner which had been a nuisance to motorists and cyclists. He did not, however, notice a dog about that day. If Cromie had had to pass a dog at the junction of the Lumsden road his action in swerving to the right would be consistent with careful driving. When he saw McDonald he had his head down and as far as witness knew he did not lift his head to look at the car. When the cycle and the car struck McDonald was thrown forward over the handlebars. From the appearance of the motor cycle it looked as if it had struck something head on. Cromie was in the act of turning the corner when he swerved to the left. When the car stopped after the accident it was slightly turned to the left. The car must have been very nearly stopped when the cycle struck it. To Mr Dolamore: In his opinion the corner was a dangerous one as the vision was obscured by the railway house. Until a motorist was practically at the corner he would not be able to see what traffic was coming up the street. He could tell from his observations that it had been Cromie’s intention to turn down the main street. If McDonald were going to Balfour the tendency for him would be to keep well over to his correct side. The swerve of the car at the corner would be consistent with the driver noticing the approach of the cyclist. In his opinion the cyclist never saw the car. The cycle struck the car inside the two front wheels.

To Sergeant Fryer: When the collision occurred the car pushed the cycle some distance, but he could not say how far. To Mr Bannerman: He based his opinion on a skid mark on the road, but this could have been caused by the back wheel of the cycle swinging round.

Alexander George Watt, grocer’s assistant, employed in Matthews’ store, said he saw Cromie’s car come round the corner to cross the railway line. He also heard a motor cycle coming north. He did not take any furthernotice of either the car or the cycle, but heard the latter passing the shop. From the sound it made he would not say it was travelling fast. Witness heard a loud smash and immediately went over to the scene of the collision. He found the front wheel of the motor cycle wedged between the upper part of the axle and the radiator between the two stub-irons. McDonald was lying on the road on his hands and knees with his head down. He was about eight feet away from the cycle, his feet being about two feet away from the left front wheel of the car. He examined the marks made by Cromie’s car and found that coming round the corner the wheel marks were within eighteen inches of the grass on the right hand side of the road. From where the collision occurred he would not say that the motor cyclist had been travelling on his correct side, but had been travelling along the middle of the road. If he had been turning the corner, however, to go towards Waikaia the cyclist would have been on his correct side. He knew the corner very well and considered it to be a dangerous one. Motorists should take it very carefully and keep to their correct side.

To Mr Bannerman: He thought that the point of impact was at the centre line of the main road. He had examined the cycle since the accident and also the car. The stub-iron of the car was flattened and must have received a severe sideways blow. He should say that the marks of the rear wheels of Cromie’s car showed that he had pulled up within two feet. To Mr Dolamore: The marks of Cromie’s car appeared to show that he was cutting the corner. He could see no marks of the tyres of the motor cycle showing the course the cycle had taken. He would not say that the car had travelled any distance after it struck the motor cycle. He would not swear that the cycle was not on its correct side when approaching the corner. To Mr Bannerman: There would have been room for another car to have passed on the gravel to the left of Cromie’s car after it had stopped. Harry Cromie, farmer, of Balfour, said he was driving in an easterly direction. He intended to turn into the main street at Riversdale. Coming down the incline from the railway he was probably driving about at 15 miles an hour. He knew that the comer was a dangerous one and was watching and not taking much notice of his speedometer. Leaving the railway he was on his correct side. Coming towards the

turn there was a dog in his running. Witness sounded his horn, but the dog took no notice. Naturally he had to go over to avoid the dog. When he got past the line of the railway hotise he glanced down the road and considered he had a clear road. He then turned to his left to get clear of the corner. He did not see the cyclist until he had turned to the left. When he reached the comer his right hand wheel would be two or three feet from the grass. That would be on the straight. He had all the side curtains except the right hand front one. The motor cyclist would be five or six yards away when witness first saw him Witness considered that he was riding along the centre „f the road. Witness could not tell whether McDonald was going to take the Waikaia or the Balfour road. Witness jammed on the brakes and the impact of the cycle stopped the car. He threw the clutch out when he put the brakes on. The cyclist must have changed his course in order to have collided with the car in the way he did. The road was reasonably wide. His only reason for being on the wrong side was that he had turned over to avoid a dog. If he had been on his correct side he would have seen the cyclist sooner, but he did not think that a collision would have been avoided. To Mr Bannerman: He had been driving a car for 17 years and had never had an accident. His car was an old model and he was taking it’to the garage for repairs. The cyclist never looked up. To Mr Dolamore: The visibility was bad and his windshield was streaming with water. Witness was probably beyond the line of the street when he first saw the cyclist. The Coroner said it was unfortunate that the last four inquests at which he had to preside had been the result of motor car accidents. He found that the cause of death was meningitis following a fracture of the skull as a result of a collision, while riding a motor cycle, with a motor car driven by H. Cromie at Riversdale on December 9.