SEQUEL TO MOTOR COLLISION

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 19374, 24 December 1932, Page 8

SEQUEL TO MOTOR COLLISION

DEATH OF FRANK A. HALL. PREVALENCE OF MOTOR ACCIDENTS. “At the opening of this inquest, I expressed regret at the increasing number of motor accidents which occur so frequently in New Zealand,” said Mr A. L. Gee, Coroner, yesterday in returning a verdict that Frank Alexander Hall died at about 10.30 pun. on December 12th in Evans Street, death being caused by primary shock due to multiple fractures of the skull as the result of a collision between the motor-cycle he was riding and a motor lorry driven by William Boag. “I feel it my duty as a coroner of this Dominion,” continued Mr Gee, “to again call public attention to this grave state of affairs. During last week the newspapers contained accounts of at least four cases of motor cyclists being fatally injured, and two pillion riders being severely injured. On Monday there was this case, on Tuesday or Wednesday there was ohe in Auckland, and one in Dunedin, and one in Invercargill. lam afraid that my remarks will be passed over lightly by many young men who are riders of motor-cycles, but. while not wishing to reflect on anyone, if by calling public attention- to this growing list of fatalities, some of these lads can be induced to exercise greater care my few remarks will not have been in vain."

Sergeant Hodgson conducted the inquiry for the police, and Mr W. H. Walton appeared for relatives of deceased. Dr W. R. Fea stated that on the night of December 12th, he was called to the scene of an accident in- Evans Street. He found a man lying on his back covered by a sheet. His face was covered with blood, and life was extinct. He examined the body superficially, and discovered burns of the hair, eyebrows, left hand and face. There were lacerated wounds of the upper and lower lips, and bleeding from both ears. Next day, on- making a post mortem examination, besides the findings already indicated, he had found that the upper and lower jaws were shattered, mostly on the right side. The fractures were compound, and there were four or five fractures in each jaw, those in the upper jaw extending to the base of the skull. There was haemorrhage into the brain and a slight gravel rash on the back of the righ hand. The left leg and hand were burned to the second degree. Death was due to primary shock, caused by multiple fractures of the skull. There were no traces of organic disease or broken limbs. Constable A. King said he arrived on the scene of the accident at 10.45 pun. He saw a man lying on the road, who had been pronounced dead by Dr Fea. Witness then removed the body ’to the morgue. On searching the body, in the presence of the driver of the van, Mr John McKnight, and a hospital porter, he found among deceased’s personal effects a motor-driver’s license and a small tumbler. The glass had contained liquor. To Mr Walton: The position of the body was as described by Dr Fea, lying on the road with the head towards the centre of the road. He was practically the last of the police on the scene, and he had not measured the distance. The body was lying with the feet to the kerb on the left hand side of the road going north. There was no sign of the effects in deceased’s pockets being broken. The watch had stopped at 10.22. Mr Walton: “You think the glass contained intoxicating liquor?”—“Yes. lam of that opinion. I smelt it.” He could not swear what class of intoxicating liquor it had contained. “Did it occur to you that the smell might have been methylated spirits or petrol?”—“No. it was neither.” “Did you note the position of the body when you arrived?”—“No, the lorry had been removed when- I arrived.”

William Boag. a carrier operating between Dunedin and Christchurch, gave evidence that he left Dunedin at about 3.40 p.m. with a lorry loaded with goods. The lorry was driven by William Stewart, his driver. Witness was with the driver all the time. It was about 10.27 when they passed the corner of Church Street. Stewart got out of the lorry at the Dominion Motors garage in Stafford Street, and witness took charge, leaving immediately. He drove towards his home on the Main North Road. The load on the lorry was 3 tons 4 cwt., and the unloaded lorry weighed 2 tons 16 cwt. He was travelling at about 15 miles per hour down the hill past Henshaw’s garage. The visibility was good. When passing the store opposite Hobbs Street, he saw a motor-car coming towards town on its correct side, and a motorcycle coming the same way on its wrong side. The car was about 50 yards from witness when he first noticed it, and the cycle was a short distance behind the car. The cycle was travelling well on its wrong side, about a foot from the edge of the bitumen. Seeing that the cyclist persisted on his wrong side, witness thought he intended to turn- to the right. Witness inclined towards the centre of the road to allow the cyclist more room to get a run up the hill. He saw the cycle making towards him and witness shouted to the driver of the car, which was passing at the time, to stop. As the cyclist struck the lorry witness swerved to the right so as to throw him clear of the wheels. Witness did not think it necessary to stop when he saw the cyclist coming, for he thought he was going up the hill on the right. Witness could have stopped quite easily. The collision took place about two or three yards to the left of the centre of the road at the intersection. The cyclist changed his course towards his left after passing the intersection, thus coming into a direct line opposite the car. If he had not altered the course of the lorry at all the collision would still have occurred. The lorry had pulled up in 40 feet. Witness had been working since 3 a.m. that day, but had gone to bed between 7 and 8 o’clock the previous night. The lights and brakes were good, the latter having been overhauled a week previously.

To Mr Walton: He had taken the time of arrival at Timaru from the Old Bank Hotel clock. He could not say what speed either the car or the cycle was travelling. The lorry was still travelling about 15 miles per hour. The brakes on the lorry were four-wheeled hydraulic, and if applied hard should pull up in the length of the lorry, about 20ft. He had his foot on the brake coming down the hill past Henshaw’s garage, but eased it off as he changed from third to fourth gear at the foot of the hill. No brakes were on as he approached the store, and he had not applied the brake immediately he saw an accident was inevitable. Had he applied the brake the cyclist would still have run into the lorry. He did not pull up in 20ft because he had driven the lorry to its correct position on the road. He had not been on his wrong side of the road at any time.

George Arthur Campbell said that he was about three chains north of the spot where the accident took place. He

saw a car approaching on its correct side, and a motor-cyclist travelling fairly fast overtaking the car on its wrong side. He estimated the speed of the car at between 20 to 25 miles per hour, and the cyclist was going a good deal faster. Robert Murdoch Sievwright stated that he was driving a light motor lorry towards town at about 18 to 20 miles per hour. He saw the lorry approaching and heard a motor-cycle coming up behind him. There was about six or seven feet between witness’s lorry and that of Boag, and he thought the cyclist could have got between them. He saw the collision take place about six feet in front of him.

.To Mr Walton: He thought Boag was travelling at 20 to 22 miles per hour, and he had no fear as far as passing was concerned. He noticed no deviation in Boag"s course.

Evidence of measurements and the positions of various marks on the road was given by Constables R. Watt and P. Swan, and the coroner then gave his verdict as stated above.