CROSSING TRAGEDY

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18537, 7 April 1930, Page 8

CROSSING TRAGEDY

Train and Bus Collide. SIX PASSENGERS DEAD. By i elegraph—Preu Association. WHANGAREI, April 9. What is believed to be the worst railway level crossing accident In the history of New Zealand, occurred at 6.5 last evening, when the Opua-bound express, carrying visitors from the Whangarei races, struck one of the buses owned by the Northern Bus Co., which was coming from Kikurangi with a load of young people going to the pictures in Whangarei. A tremendous impact occurred on McLeod’s Crossing, near Hikurangi. As a result the ’bus was completely smashed and hurled some distance, and of eleven occupants four were killed outright, one died before arrival at Whangarei public hospital, and another (whose case was hopeless from the outset) succumbed this morning. Another passenger, Phillip Sparks, has an extensive fracture of the skull, and the outlook for his recovery is bad. The Death Roll. The dead are as follows: Sydney Johnson (15). son of Mr Joseph Johnson, Hikurangi. Gavin Davidson (16), son of Mr Robert Davidson, Hikurangi. James Rothwell (17), of Mountain Road, Hikurangi. Irene Darwin (15), whose parents reside at Peria Road, Matamata. Edna Wilson (23), of Kestersn Avenue, St. Helier’s Bay, Auckland. Andrew Frew (17), of Hikurangi. The Injured List. The injured are: — Eileen Trotter, extensive wound to the right foot, scalp wounds, and body abrasions, and suffering severely from shock. She was operated upon on Sunday morning, and is doing well. Lewis Martin (16), of George Street, Hikurangi, wound op the scalp. Fracture of the skull was suspected, but an examination under an anaesthetic showed that this was not so, and this patient is doing well. Noel Wilkinson (21), driver of the bus, compound fracture of the left shoulder blade, and suffering from severe shock. He was operated upon on Sunday mornfng, and his condition is now good. Trevor Doel (14), whose parents reside in Hikurangi, extensive wounds on the left thigh, and an injured scalp. He was operated upon on Sunday morning, and his outlook is good. Phillip Sparks (15), whose parents reside in Hikurangi. This was one of the most serious cases admitted to the hospital. The youth was suffering frofn extensive head injuries and shock. An examination under an anaesthetic on Sunday morning revealed an extensive fracture of the vault of the skull, and the lad was still unconscious this afternoon, when it was not expected that he would recover.

The tragedy occurred with such suddenness, and the survivors are so badly knocked about, that an accurate story cannot be obtained. All that can be stated definitely is that the race train bound for Opua, and the ’bus travelling towards Whangarei, met on the level crossing. The night was dark, and rain was drizzling. The nine patients, dead and dying, were conveyed in private cars to Whangarei Hospital, the yard of which looked like a casualty clearing station in war.