INQUEST.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 8012, 26 December 1905, Page 2

INQUEST.

An inquest was held on Saturday morning touching the death of William George Furlong, ago 25 years, an engineer recently arrived in the colony, the victim of the accident at Westown on Thursday. Mr 1). Berry, actingcoroner, presided over tlio inquiry, The following jury was empanelled: A. Amlmry (foreman), A. Donald, G. Garry, H. Shotlander, F. Watts, W. H. Beadle. Evidence was to the effect that deceased was staying a few days with Mr Coleman, and was assisting to lop a branch from a tree. He severed it almost through, then others manned a rope fastened to the limb, and pulled it so that it should fall in a given direction. Witnesses saw that Furlong had not escaped with the others, who ran when the bough cracked, but was knocked over and was lying under the felled branch. It had been arranged which way all should run, but deceased ran the wrong way. Dr. McClelland was called, and on.' ercd remo /al to the hospital. Dr. Lcatliam gave evidence regarding deceased's admission to the hospital, and as to his injuries, which ine'udcct fractured ribs ana other parts of the right side, puncture of the right lung, and severe general contusions of tA'C internal organs. He had found! also a deeply lacerated wound in the j lower part of the body, which had in-1 jured the bowels, and a fracture of the pelvis, which led him to believe that deceased had been impaled upon some projecting body, such as a limb or branch. The patient was anaesthetised, but the case was hopeless from the first, and death ensued a few hours later from shock and loss of blood. The injuries were such as would be received in the accident as described. The jury returned a verdict that deceased was accidentally killed by the falling of a branch of a tree, and expressed their sympathy with the relatives.