INQUEST.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 3437, 17 April 1879, Page 4

INQUEST.

;.: An inquest was held at the Provincial Hospital yesterday, before Dr Coward, coroner-, and a jury of twelve, touching the death -of •-, George Fennoll, who died in the . Hospital on Tuesday last. MV F. Baok, General Manager of the Ohrietohuroh Railways, was present to watch the case on behalf of the Government.

■. Riohard Andersen doposed : I am a railway .porter, at Rangiora, I knew the deceased, , who waa also a porter at Rangiora. On .April 3, I was working with him at ■', .Rangiora. Ho was detaching waggons ' and " braking " them on different lines. Ho went alongside a truck, dropped a brake, and slipped from it, falling with one of hiß feet , under the wheel. The truck passed ovor hia , leg. I went up to him directly, and 'found him sitting on the ground with one of his feet nearly severed from the leg. A doctor waa sent for, and after the foot had beon temporarily bandaged up ho was sent to the Hospi- ■ : tal. Deceased was braking fche trucks in fche usual way, viz., putting his foot on the brake. , There is a risk of a person slipping from tho brake. > \ .. To, Mr Back: Deceased was not riding on the .brake at the time. The waggon had received, a; start from the engine. It was a "flying shunt." To. ]urors ■ There is a certain amount of risk in "braking," but not moro risk than in

any other kind of brake. A person could not stop the waggon quiokly without putting his , foot, on it. If a brake is in good working r order ifc should be safe enough. Thore aro no >Btay 8 ; or handles on box waggons to get hold of in getting on the brake. To Sergeant Morieo: The deceased was sober atthe timo. He haa been six years in the railway employ to my knowledge.

• To a Juror : There ia no stop at the end of the brake fco prevent; slipping off. Frederiok Baok, Genoral Manager of the Christohurch Railways, doposed : I produce a book of rules and regulations in connection with -fcho working of the railway. Rule 176 in part oiplftins fcho duties of shunters . [Mv Back then read the rule, whioh runs aB follows ■':— ", It is very important that the engine drivers use the utmost oaution when shunting

waggons into sidings aooa to avoid injuring the ', waggons or other properfcy of the Government. The engine must never be detached until tho train or vehicles are put into the siding or elsewhere as far as required, and come fco a standstill. On no account must any shunting be done unless both driver and firoman aro

on tho ongine. No ongtno must push fche train, bufc always draw it, except in caae of -necessity,' STying shunts are striotly forbidden."] Witness continued : I will oxplain to fche jury thafc a flying shunt is a shunt made when the waggon is detaohed ' J from tho engine and receives a kick or push to send it along to its destination. The ..deceased was at this time acting as Bhunter. 'He 1 had the complete control of the engine, and ifc was simply to save trouble I presume —whioh lam afraid is frequently done — that this flying, shunt was .mado which fcho rules forbid. The brake is put; down by a hand lover and is kept; in its place by teeth whon "-."once- put-down, and a smart; brakesman would R sfcop a waggon with his hand. To savo trouble shunters will occasionally uao thoir .feet.' This is a' case whero to save his legs •"deceased lost his leg. He tried to atop the truck when ifc was going afc too great a speed. Shunts Bhould be mado with tho engine at the rear of tho truck. Deceased was not acting in accordance with the rules when the accident happened. Ho was a very trustworthy' experienced man with a vory good character. • He had boen shunting overy day of his life except Sundayß during tho timo ho had been in the omploy of tho railway do•partmont. In anßwer to queations from the Jury, witneas said thero waa a curve for the hand in fche end of fcho lover. If a man used his foot he did it to savo time. Tho brako was only on one end of the truck, and it would 'have to be put on the turntable if the brako was always at tho back. This would entail .great loss of .time. Charles. Derbidge, ganger and platelayer on the New Zealand Railways, said: On April 3, I was within a short distance of deceased when the accident occurred, about 10 or 15 minutes past 1 p.m. Decoased waa on fcho brake of a truok whon I first; saw him. X did not sec him full, but I aaw him almost lying upon the brake. Whon I got to him he had got away from the brake and was sitting down. I saw fchafc his foot waa smashed.

Ho told me he had slipped. " Maurice Ohilton, Resident Surgeon at the Hospital, deposed : Deceaaed waa admitted to theiHospital on April 3, at about 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Ho waa Buffering from a compound comminuted fracture of fche left leg. There was, and apparently had boon a great amount of hemccrrhage going on. He must ..ihave, loafc a. very considerable amount of blood beforo he reached the Hospital. I summoned a visiting surgeon, and wo removed the foot, and about four days afterwards, he had all the symptoms of bloodpoisoning, from which ho died yesterday morning. The poisoning was tho result of the oooidonfc. Ho seemed fco have loafc ah enormous amount of blood, and never rallied from 'the Operation. In answer to Dr Coward, Mr Back stated that inatruotiona how to Btop bleeding in oase of accident had been written, and would be shortly added fco the present book of rules. The jury returned a vordiot of "Accidental death/