THE LATE RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XXIII, Issue 206, 5 September 1901, Page 2

THE LATE RAILWAY ACCIDENT.

INQUEST AT THE HOSPITAL. An inquest was held at the Hospital' on Wednesday, before Mr. R. L. Stan- i ford (District Coroner) into the circum- ' stances attending the Heath of the late Major Chas. Brown, who was killed at the Devon-street railway crossing on Monday afternoon. The following gentlemen formed the jury:—Messrs F. P. Oorkill (foreman), A. B. R. Fookes, H. Goldwater, T. Furlong, 8. j Teed, and H. Ford. j Mr. G. W. Govett appeared on behalf of the family of the deceased. Mr j Kerr represented the Railway Department. Mr, Day, stationmaster, was also present, After the jury had viewed the body, the first witness called was, Sergeant Haddrell, who stated that he knew deceased. He was 81 years of age. On Monday af'ernoon, about 4 o'clock, witness was at the scene of, the accident, and had the body removed to the morgue. Witness made a superficial examination of the body. J The head was much bruised, bo'h arms broken, chest crushed in, right leg cut off below the knee and hanging by a few tendons, and the left severed from the body half way between the knee and ankle. The body lay about 30 yards from the crossing on the upper side.

Isaac Morrison, engine-driver on the railway, stated he was in charge of the itrain leaving New Plymouth at 4 I o'clock on Monday. The crosping was 340 yards from the platform. He whis'led at the whistle board on approaching the crossing, and continued the whistle until he reached Devon-street. Witness kept a look out on the right side of the engine, When about the centre of the 1 crossing the fireman c Jled out to witness, in a sharp ton° of voic \ " Whoi, |who', h<w he got across?" Upon beating this witness imme H >tely shut off steam, and reversed the engine, and whittled for brakes ( f ,hrea sharp whistles). On. hearing the firemm call out witness said " Who ?" Witness then *aw a hat come to his side across the cowcatcher. As sow as the engine stopped witness went to the front and saw a bundle of fish hanging to the point of the cowcatcher; there was also on the right step of the catcher a walking stick. Witness could find nothing more about the engine. Went back alongside the waggons, and saw the body of deceased lying under the third waggon from the engine. This would b3 about 46 yards from the south side of Devon-street.

To Sargrant Haddrall: Tha speed was six miles an hoar, Witness could see the crossing for about 100 yards before coming t"> ifc. There were a good number of people about the left side of the crossing on Mond iy. 0 j comiug close to the street witness' view to the left was obstructed by by the steam dome, e*c, on fop of the boiler. Witness' experience was that people very oft«n ignored the whistle, and he sometimes saw them rush across io spite of the near approach of a train. Witness did not think the wheals of the engine pissed over the body. The space between the point of the cowcatcher and the level of the ballast was six or seven inches. There was a fairly heavy train on—eight loaded waggons, four cars, and a brake van. There was a second engine behind, to give him a push up the hill. Fulled up the train in about 46 yards. Witness saw the signalman at the crossing, ! To Mr. Kerr: The signalman gave witness the signal with a green flag to cross. He would not have crossed the 'street if he had not given the signal.' |The whistle board was 207 yards from! the crossing, and he blew right up to the street. The fireman was watching on his side, I

To Mr. Qovett: Witness could te'l the speed he was going at by experience. He hud no guage. To the foreman : The whistle could, at its lowest, be h?ard a loDg way off, as far as the station. Had been driving on this section about 13 years. D'd not consider the crossing unusually danjarous, so long as people would take notice of the wh'stle. There was more traffic at this crowing, and he had bad narrow escapes, but bad had the same on others. Had never had an accident on this crossing before, nor had he known of another.

. A, G. Hodge, £raman, stated that he was on the 4 p.m. south train on Monday, The driver blew the whistle at the board, and continued to the crossing. Witness was on tbe left of the engine, and could see tbe footpath. They got; a signal from the signalman indicating that all was clear. Just as they got across the cattle-stop at Newton King's witness saw an eldrly man stop out from the by-standers and start as if to oross the track at an angle in front of the engine. Witness callei out to the driver and put on the brake. In doing so witness had to get into the rab to get more leverage on to the hrnfre. The driver did not appear to hear witness at first, and witness called agnn, when he shut off st>am and whistled for brakes, 1

To Sergeant Haddrell: When the man gtepp»d out from the crowd he was about 1| yards from the line, and the eDgine would be about three yards from the same spot. The man was walking as if in de'p though*-, and did not, in witness' opinion, know there wos any danger, The only chnnoa of swing a man in such a oase would have been for some one at hand to have pulled him back. They were travelling about six miles an hour at tbe time.

To Mr Kerr: People often crossed in front of a tra ; n after the whistle was blown—they " risked it." W. H. Hewlett, railway porter, stated he was on duty in Duvon-street "t 4 p.m, on Monday as signalman. He went ten minutes before the train was due, The>e were more pwple about than u«u*l. Witness siw the train as it came round the bend. The engine was whistling then, and continued so until deceased was struck Witness had given the signal "all clear." Wjtnfss was standing in the roadway, on the sag l ; sjde of the mitals. Witness looked to right, and then to left, to see that all was clea'. On tasking book agu'n, he saw deceased in the act of stepping on the line. He tried ; n his attention, and rughed to Ms assistance but it was too lat». When witness saw the deceased, he appeared to be on the cow-oatcner, his hea i against the smoke-box. The engine then passed witness, and deceased was out of his sigh*. The whistle was then sounded for brakes. Witness then followed the engine, and sw deceased pot. out from under the third truck. He was lying in the centre of the line. To the foreman: Witness had had fxperienne on Engl-'sh railways. He had seen lines running through busy thoroughfares like Devon-street, but gates were always provided. | H. J, Day, stationmaster, was called, and explained the distances on a sketch (pus in) of the scene of the accident,

The speed at the crossing was restricted to six miles at hour. Jas. B. Connett stated he was round the corner in Brougham-street whoa the accident occurred The whistle seemed to witness to be louder, longer, and more continuous than usual. He was lo iking down the road, and f?aw from the gesticulations of a bystander (Mr. Phillips) that somnthing unusual had occurred. He immediately heard the three whistles and hurried to the scene of the accident. He saw Major i Brown's bat on the road.

W. A. Collis, an eya witness of the acoidsnt, was called, and gave an account of what he saw.

To Sergeant Haddrell: Nothing could have bsen done to save deceased under the circumstances. Witness heaid the wniat'e being bbwn as usual.

Walter Smith, fishmonger, was also called.

Arthur Ambury, draper, stated he saw the accident. The signalman was at his post on the road, and witness saw him rush towards Major Brown to try and save him by grabbing at him. The signalman also shouted to deceased and saemed to witness te run some danger himself in his efforts to save deceased.

This wns all the evidence, and the Oorooer pointed out to the jury that the accident was the nsult of pure accident, and that no blame was attachable to anyone. After a short re'ireiuent the jury returned the followirg verdict:— " That the dece s-.d, Major Orias. Brown, mat with his death accidentally whi'e crossing the railway line in Devon-street, no blame being attachable to any of the ni way officials." Toe jury submits the following rider: —" That the unprotected crossing is a continual danger to the pudic, and the' Railway Department b» urged to devise soma m*ai>s for efficiently protecting it. The jury recommends fjr serious consideiation by the Government that the time bai now arrived for the deviation of the line so as to avoid traversing the populous streets of the Borough; that the evidence goes to show that Portor Howie't endangered his own life in an attempt to save the late Major Brown, and that: his eon- j duct ig worthy of commendation."