FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENT

Taranaki Daily News, 9 June 1930, Page 14

FATAL MOTOR ACCIDENT

■DEATH OF NORMAN COBURN ' . EVIDENCE GIVEN AT INQUEST. . HEARING NOT YET COMPLETED. The death of Norman A. L. Coburn, Opunake, who died from injuries after liis car had collided with a ■ stationary Car in Gill. Street on the night of May 24 was the . subjects of an inquest ■which' was opened before the coroner, Mr. R. W.. Tate, S.M., on " Saturday morning. All .the evidence -had not been heard .by -the end of the • morning and the inquest was adjourned sine die. Senior-Sergt. MoCrorie appeared for the police, Mr. C. H. Weston for the relatives of Coburn, Mr. R. H. Quilliam for Newton King, Ltd., Mr. I. Roy for the National. Insurance Company, and Mr. R. Brokenshire for the N.I.M.U. In- .. surance Company. She . first saw Coburn on the evening Of the accident shortly after 11 p.m. at a dance in the Agricultural Hall, said Zeta M. Braund, a passenger in the Car. He had asked why she was not dancing and she replied that she was too tired, but had to wait until the ,12 o’clock bus. - He then offered to drive witness and the Misses. Riley home. She herself was in the front Seat with Coburn. He drove down Gill Street. At the intersection with Currie Street she felt a» though Coburn lost control of <be car, pul her fur collitr over her head and “ducked down.” She did not remember anything more until ’She recovered consciousness. The car inighi have skidded. She had no-idea .of its speed. The lights of Coburn’s car .were on.. Coburn was perfectly sober as ’tar as she could see; It was a fini ' night. ' ‘ ’ . . UNCONSCIOUS IN HOSPITAL. Coburn was admitted to hospital profoundly shocked and almost v completely unconscious, said Dr. W.< W. Main, house surgeon at- the New Plymouth hospital. On examination he found a contused woundxom the left side of the forehead which’ might have Indicated a depressed fracture, of the skull in that region. There was a similar wound on the back of the skull on the right side that almost certainly indicated a fractured skull. He was bleeding from the ear and nostril, indicating a fairly extensive fracture of the base of the skull. There was nothing to suggest operative surgical interference. He died at about .1 p.m. next day. He had spoken but not rationally. /The cause <pf death was haemorrhage and laceration of the brain resulting from a fracture of the skull. There was certainly no smell of liquor from deceased.

Elwyn Kyra Riley, another passenger in the car, gave similar evidence to Miss Braund’s as to what happened at the tall. She* had no idea of the speed pf the car in Gill Street. At the intersection with Currie Street she saw ■nothing wrong. ’ She saw no car on the road,,. but suddenly heard glass break and then the car turned over. The next thing she remembered was tasking her sister if she was all right, Coburn appeared perfectly sober to her when he walked, out of the hall with them.

Coburn had spoken to him in the building at about 10 p.m. on the evening of the. accident, said Leo C. Richards, secretary of the dance committee pf the New Plymouth branch of the Labour Party. He had formed the opinion that Coburn had had some drink, but he certainly was not drunk. Witness sold him a ticket. One of the rules of the dance was that nobody under the influence pf liquor was allowed into the hall and three or four had been refused admission that night. Witness saw Coburn again at about 11 p.m., ‘going out of the hall. He then thought that Coburn might have been a little more light-headed than when he first went into the hail. ■He noticed him falter slightly, but it might hap been caused by the rather steep, incline up to the street. Owing to the strict supervision exercised he was of the opinion that Coburn had no drink in the hall. SMASH OUTSIDE GARAGE. A >garage attendant at Newton King’s, Thomas Joseph Bourke, said' he was inside the garage when he heard a car Coming down Gill Street. It would be over 100 yards away when he first heard it and from the sound he considered it was travelling very fast. Had the car

been going at .a normal pace he would have taken no notice. When it would have been outside the garage on the bend the wheels made a skidding noise, following which he heard the crash. He thought tho skidding sound indicated that tho tyres were scraping on the looso metal chips on £ho side of the road. Ho found tho car lying on its right side facing up Gill .Street with the lights still burning. He assisted to carry Miss Riley into the ladies’ waiting room. Coburn was taken into tho garage office. He thought Coburn was lying inside the car over tho seat. Ho had previously seen the stationary car Coburn’s car had. hit. It was parked parallel to the kerb facing towards St. Aubyn Street. He did not remember seeing lights on that car, but it was illuminated by a street lamp & short distance away—-about 10 feet. After the impact the car that was hit

was found with the back wheels in a vacant section on the town side of the footpath. Coburn’s car had left a distinct skid mark, starting just on tho bend. He described the damage to the stationary car and Coburn’s. It appeared that tho front left hand wheel had struck tho right rear portion of tho other car. ■ To Mr. Westons The front number of Coburn’s car was' undamaged. Tho skid marks were apparent for 100 feet, stated L. C. gladden, registered surveyor.