FATAL MOTOR RIDE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 16987, 10 March 1923, Page 7

FATAL MOTOR RIDE.

DEATH OF EDWARD MANTTAN. EVIDENCE AT INQUEST. At the inquest held yesterday afternoon touching the death of Edward Kenneth Manttan, the victim of the Kaiapoi motor accident on Wednesday, the Coroner (Mr Wyvern Wilson, S.M.) returned a verdict that Manttan met his death by being crushed under a motor-car driven by Allan Midgley. The car had come into collision, with a. horse, while travelling at a very high rate of speed. The Coroner said he wap satisfied that when the accident occurred the car was going at a high rate of speed, * but there was nothing to guide him as to what that speed was. The question then arose as to the responsibility of a driver on a long, straight road, when he could reasonably expect to meet no traffic or obstmetions. “ I think a driver's responsibility is to drive at such a speed as to be able to avoid all traffic and accidents that could be reasonably anticipated.” the Coroner remarked. “In the present case T do not think the driver could reasonably expect a horse to come out from the side of the road ” R^viewing t.be* evidence before him. the Coroner commented on the reticence shown by the witness M’Tntyre. There was no disgrace for people to go for aride in a. car Sin the evening, take sonic supper with them nnd come back again. Tt was surprising that, considering the ride the.se people took, M’Tntyre said he know none of them except the driver. This was hard to believe bpennsfy M’Tntyre had told the name of at least one "of the oarty to the police. The Coroner added be did rob think that on the night of the accident, Midcdev was under the influence of liquor. MID GLET ’ R ET T DEN CE. After the “Star” went to press] yesterday afternoon, Midgley, continuing his evidence, said that the car was upset when they were going down Poplar Avenue. The car wa» proceeding down the avenue when two horses sprang out from the roadside. In dodging one he hit the other. The next thing he knew the car was upset. The horses jumped out right on top of him, and he could not see them in time to j avoid an accident. He was travelling } between seventeen and twenty miles jan hour. The speedometer registered j faster than the car was travelling. Tt i ' hail been out of orc.er ever since the ! car had been purchased. Witness I applied his brakes as soon as ho hit the horse. He did not remember having , applied them before bitting tlie horse. Witness was unable to say whether the car overturned as soon as it hit the horse or not. As far as he.knew it did. On' the way out to Kaiapoi he was travelling at bwenty-two or twenty-three miles an hour. On the earlier trip he had travelled at about twenty-five j miles an hour. On the first trip out i the party stopped at Kaiapoi and had ice-cream. They had supper at the beach, but no alcoholic drink was included. CONFLICTING STATEMENTS. The Coroner : You made a statementto the police about it. didn’t you? Yes. Is that the statement (as the police produced a document) ? —Yea. Signed by yourself?—Yes. The Coroner (holding the document) : Is this correct, what you say here?—Yes, as far as I know, bar the speed. The speed is not right because I never t-old them about the speedometer. To Constable Holmes: He had told the police the speed was about twentyfive miles an hour. Travelling at seventeen miles an hour the brakes would pull the car up in about three lengths. The Coroner: It- will be said. Air i Midgley, that your wheel marks after the brakes were applied go a distance of 100 ft before you hit anything according to the marks on the road, and 130 ft before you hit the trees. In view of that fact what do you say about your speed ?- Witness: Nothing to say at all. Constable Holmes: Were you conversing with your passenger ?—No. sir. Witness said he was keeping a sharp look out. His lights were in perfect order. The road down the avenue was dry. He used the foot-brakes. He did not remember whether lie used ov attorn oted to use the hand-brake. Tim Coroner: Which is correct as to times, the statement you made to the > police or the statement you made to

Witness: As near as I can tell vou the tP— f have told you are right. PERSONNEL OF PARTY. Hector Gordon M’Donald M’lntyre, a commercial traveller for L. B. Hart and Co., said lie was one of the party that visited Ivairaki. The party comprised the deceased and himself and three ladies. He did not know the surnames of these ladies. The Coroner: Do you mean to tel! me that?-—Yes, sir. Idle Coroner (to the constable) : Give me that statement that ho made. 'l’lie Coroner.- You will remember that you made a statement and signed it. T want to give you another opportunity to confirm what you told the police or what you tell me that you did not know all the persons in the Witness: This morning I gave the sergeant a statement and gave the Christian names of the ladies, and said J was not sure of the surname of one. f heard their Christian names. One was called Hazel Th© Coroner: Well, why do you hesitate? When T remind you of the statement. you made to the police you tell me you cannot give the names, thatyou do not know what they are. Witness : I am not sure of the names. The Coroner : What, time did you get home?—About eleven o'clock. Did you have any alcoholic liquor? I had some. sir. The driver had none. What did you have? Port wine, When was that? - Before we had supP How do you know the driver had none?- He had none in my presence,

"Was there any other liquor there? - There was a small bottle, but what was in it I cannot say. Who was ridiug beside the driver? — One of the girls. The deceased arranged this little party ? —YeB. Were all these persons known to you before then?—No. sir. I was introduced to them. But not by name? —-Yea, but T have forgotten the names. T gather that for one fleeting moment your memory revived and you membered the name of one of them and were able to give it to the sergeant and then lapsed again. Is that so ?- T could not remember the other two Coroner: It may be desirable to adjourn the inquest in order to have the evidence of these girls as to the time the car left the beach, because that, is the important point. To Constable Holmes: Witness esti mated the speed of the car at fifteen to eighteen miles an hour. MARKS ON THE ROAD. Kenneth M’lntosh said he lived just off Poplar Avenue. He was called o*it

by the driver of the car at 12.30 a.m. The car was overturned. Witness’* brother' and nephew were already there, and they had a lever under the car. In a few minutes they had raised the car sufficiently to get the deceased out. A doctor was summoned and on his arrival in five or six minutes pronounced life extinct. When witness got to the car the steering wheel was on deceased's chest. Witness took some measurements the next morning. There were marks of the horse having been struck forty-two or fortythree yards from where the brakes we.e applied, and just at about the point where the car swerved towards the trees. The horse evidently crawled from the road t-o the drain. The off hind leg of the horse was broken. The horse belonged to Mr Robert Kelly and Witness saw no other horse on the road. Constable J. Holmes of Kaiapoi gave evidence regarding the statement made to him by Midgley.