CORONER’S INQUEST.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume LVI, Issue 67, 12 September 1925, Page 5

CORONER’S INQUEST.

ARTHUR SANCSTEFTS DEATH.

ACCIDENTALLY KILLED

An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of the late Arthur George Sangster was 'held at the, .Stratford Court this morning, before Mr C. D. Sole, J.P., Acting Coroner and u jury which consisted of Messrs J. Weston, L, Wann, Campbell Jackson, and J. Petrie, Jnr. Mr C. Jackson was chosen as foreman of the jury, and Sergeant J. S. Reid represented the Police. The first witness called was Robert Adam Sangster, brother of deceased, who deposed that his brother was a fanner and a single man aged 33 years. He identified the body of deceased as that of his brother. Deceased had been in good health and of sober habits. He was also a firstclass motor driver and had frequently travelled over the road upon which the accident had occurred. Constable Chesnutt said he visited the scene of the accident at 8.15 a.m. yesterday and found the car overturned and facing in a southwesterly direction. The left rear tyre had burst, and the spokes of the wheel were tyroken. There w'ere marks showing where the car liad left the metalled part of the road and had travelled about, 90 feet on the soft portion. An attempt had evidently been made to regain the metal. From the tyre marks the front wheel appeared to have regained the metal when the vehicle overturned. The car had regained the metal at an angle and there was a grade of about two feet from the metal to the soft part at the side. That presumably was one of the causes why the car overturned. The other qause was likely a burst tyre, marks of the wheels showed a slight swerve, but the car appeared to have been driven steadily. There was a telegraph post further along, but had deceased carried straight on he would not have hit it. Witness and Constable Shields:, had removed the body to the Morgue. Witness knew deceased personally and had found hip a steady young man. He had never seen him under the influence of drink.

To the Coroner: The body was warm when removed to the Morgue.

To Mr Jackson; The two feet of which he had spoken, between the metal and the soft part, was partly a slope and partly a dVop. To Mr Weston: Deceased might have been going at a fair speed. •Perhaps- he. had -tried to 'find a' good place to regain the metal. Had he gone on a little further he would have regained the metal more easily. He had not appeared to have left the metal in a hurry. The wheel marks were not erratic.

medical Evidence. Dr, D, Steven deposed that he had been called to Bast Road at 6 a.m. on Friday and found the car upside down, the lights still going, and deceased’s leg projecting from the doorway on the road side of the car. A He was lying face downwards with tfie y cushions on top of him. He was then dead and witness thought death had taken place about an hour previously. The body had been examined externally for marks of violence. There was a deep contusion on the left side of the forehead, also slight abrasions on the backs of both hands and a severe contusion across both legs above the knees running from the left downwards to the right. Without a post mortem examination witness could not say what internal organs were injured. Iq witness’s opinion death bad been due to the accident. . ' "GOOD NIGHT.” Lewis Henry Pemberthy, butcher, of Stratford, knew deceased whom he had last seen at 1.45 on Friday morning as witness was leaving the Town Hall. Deceased was outside the door smoking a cigarette. He had said “good night” to witness. Deceased was sober at the time. STATE OF THE OAR.

'William Robert Boyd, foreman and motor mechanic, gave evidence as to visiting the scene of the accident from which h© had removed, th© car. The left-hand front tyre was punctured. The left rear wheel wa« smashed, as was the steering wheel. Th© windshield was broken, and th© hood was buckled in. The bursting of a tyre would cause the car to leave the road. The car had gone off the road about two chains from the accident. There wer© marks of. a sid© skid for about) five or six yards. ( LIQUOR AT THE BALL.

Constable Shields said he had attended the Town Hall on Thursday night, September 10. Witness left about 1.20 a.m, on tbe 11th. Deceased was there, and witness spoke to him about 1 a.m.. Witness had taken particular notice of what was going on ffliat evening, and witness thought there was far too much drinking going on. There wa s a considerable amount of liquor there. Quite a. lew of the men were the worse for liquor. Two of them were sent homo., Several women were the worse for liquor. Witness took notice to endeavour to find out where the, liquor was coming from. He concluded that it was iit the Hall, and that it was nob being] obtained from outside. Several youths, who appeared to be under 21, were under the influence of liquor, and' four young men were drinking gin outside the hall. Witness ascertained that some liquor which had been stored tinder the stage, had been broached by the larrikin element, and presumably the bottle of gin was part of it. There were visitors in attendance from New Plymouth, Hawera, etc. They seemed to be the chief offenders and witness did nob see any local people, under the influence of I litjupj'., or .otherwise misbehaving. .To Mr Wes Lon: .He -could not say what was the cause of the accident,

but ids opinion was that it was due to the bursting tyre, and the swerving of the car off the road, and the vehicle had turned over when trying to regain the road. Deceased was a capable driver, DISCOVERY AT DAWN.

Georg© Peter Hunter, a farmer of East Road, said ho lived about 100 yards from the scene of the accident. When witness got up at S.<SO a.m. on Friday he noticed the glare of motor lights on the road, and thinking something w r as wrong he went to the scena where he found deceased beneath the car. Witness tried to get him out and called out to him, but got no response, and concluded, he was dead. He then went to get help, and met a man named Mischewski, who went; and telephoned the doctor and the police. Witness then got two or three other men, in case help was necessary.

SIGN OF THE TIMES. Sergeant Reid then addressed the Court, and said that tlie affair was a very sad one. A young man who hdd attended a Ball at the Town Hall on< Thursday night had met his i death while proceeding home. It Seemed,: from the evidence, that there ’ was a. good deal of drink amongst some of« those in attendance at the Ball. It was a- sad thing that drink should be taken -to such functions and served indiscriminately. This state of affairs 'did ‘ nbt 1 apply ili“Stratford !! alone, but at nearly every dance-held in ttye, country districts. Drink was takew, to .these functions by young men and. given to young women. Such a state of affairs should not exist, but there was no law to prevent it, and the, police were powerless. All that the Statutes said was that no drink should be consumed in restaurants. It was time by-laws were instituted preventing drink being consumed irt Halls, or legislation brought in that would enable the police to deal with itt. There was no evidence to showthat deceased was at all 'under the influence of liquor; on the contrary, ho was known as a man of good character and temperate habits. “SIT DOWN!” Mr R. Y. Kay, who was in Court, said he would like to make an explanation.

Mr Sole: Why? Who are you representing ? Mr Kay: The Golf Club, against whom some allegations have been made.

Mr Sole : Th© Golf Club has no interest in this inquest, which tho police are running.

Mr Kay: There is just on© thing— Mr Sole: “Sit downl” Mr Kay did so.

CORONER’S REMARKS.

The Coroner then went on to say that the opinions regarding dances wer© expressed by the Sergeant of Police and not by the speaker. Mr Sol© 'was pleased that tile evidence did not disclose that deceased had teen under the inlluence of liquor and his death had been a pure accident. The last person to have seen him according to the evidence was the witness Pen her thy, but som© considerable time had elapsed between then and the finding of the body. Th© inference was that he must have been somewhere in between times, but the police had not been able to find evidence on th© point. A good many cars must have gone down East Road after the ball, and obviously deceased was not there then. However, they were only concerned with the evidence which showed that deceased was accidentally killed in a motor car accident. Mr Jackson said deceased was dancing in the Hall after Penberthy had seen him.

Mr Sole: Penberthy’is was the only evidence wo had as to when ho was last seen alive. THE VERDICT.

After some further discussion beteween the Coroner and Mr Jackson, the jury returned a verdict that deceased met his death in a motor accident caused through a tyre bursting and the car turning over, while, he was on his way home from a. dance. NEED FOR. MORE POLICE.

Mr Sole then referred to the necessity for additional police assistance, saying that the Inspector of Police had so recommended. There was no' constable on duty between 1 a.m. and the time the day constable came on. The Sergeant was anxious that another man. should bo, provided and the Coroner thought that if they made representations through Mr Masters, M.P., would get what they asked for. There were many occasions at night when people might need a policeman and 'if there were one on duty they would know where to find him:. The jury instructed the Coroner to make representation to the Justice Department through Mr Masters,