MAN KILLED, AND GIRL LOSES SIGHT.
MOTORIST, LAUGHING AND TALKING, DASHED INTO TELEGRAPH POST. (Special to the “ Star.") AUCKLAND, July 1. Joseph Mercer, charged with negligent driving on January 22, when his car smashed into a telegraph post at Papakura, was sentenced to a month's imprisonment this morning by the Magistrate, Mr Hunt, who. reviewing the evidence, said the case was most distressing. One life was lost, and a girl was deprived of her eyesight. “ The loss of life has become so serious,” he said, “ that speeding and other offences must be checked. Defendant was going along at thirty miles an hour, laughing and talking. Instead of taking the bend, the car went straight ahead and was badly smashed. It is said that the road is dangerous where the car came to grief, but all roads are dangerous, and it behoves motorists to approach known danger spots with the utmost caution. “I am satisfied that Mercer was not taking the necessary care. Though I would like to let Mercer off, he was driving furiously. This sort of thing must be stopped. I have a duty to perform, and punishment seems the only deterrent.” On the application of counsel, the sentence was made a month and a day, so that appeal could be made.
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Bibliographic details
Star (Christchurch), Issue 17887, 1 July 1926, Page 1
Word Count
213MAN KILLED, AND GIRL LOSES SIGHT. Star (Christchurch), Issue 17887, 1 July 1926, Page 1
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