MOTOR-CYCLIST STRUCK BY CAR.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18465, 17 May 1928, Page 14

MOTOR-CYCLIST STRUCK BY CAR.

INQUEST HELD ON VICTIM OF SMASH ON RICCARTON ROAD. That the death of Patrick Herbert Newnham, which occurred in the Christchurch Hospital on May 4. following on a collision between deceased’s motor-cycle and a motor-car driven by Frederick Marshall on Riccarton Road the previous evening, was purely accidental, was the verdict of the Coroner, Mr E. D. Mosley, at an inquest held yesterday. , Sergeant Murrav conducted the inquiry for the police. Ml- Malley represented the relatives of the deceased, and Mr Reid appeared on behalf of the driver of the motor-car. Dr T. E. Palmer, a house surgeon at the Christchurch Hospital, said that when Newnham was admitted he was in a bad condition, although conscious The next morning he died at the end of an operation which had been performed on his leg. J- K. Davidson, assistant superintendent of the Christchurch Hospital, said that he saw Newnham immediately he was admitted to the ward. Newnham was suffering from shock and multiple lacerated wounds in the lower right leg, together with a compound fracture of the leg. The injuries were of such a nature that any attempt to repair the leg was impossible. The point was whether he should have immediate amputation oi* whether he should be given time to recover from the shock. He was treated for shock throughout the night and up to the time of his going to the operating theatre a J*. a-m. the following day. His condition had then improved, and it was decided that he was in fit condition to stand amputation. The decision was arrived at by Dr Guthrie, the senior surgeon in charge of the case, in consultation with Dr Acland, another of the senior surgeons. It was decided that the patient should have a special anaesthetic. The anaesthetic was administered by Dr Guthrie. The operation was proceeded with, and the amputation completed when the patient collapsed. Artificial respiration was employed, together with the administration of restoratives, but the patient died. The cause of death, in his opinion, was heart failure, due to shock, which was primarily caused by the accident. To Mr Reid: Witness thought that the earlier an amputation was performed, compatible with reasonable safety, the better, because it was known that the longer lacerated tissue was left the greater was the shock to the paTRAM DRIVER’S VERSION. Louis Charles James Weddrell, a tramway motorman, said that on May 3, at 5.2 p.m., he was driving a tram west along Riccarton Road, running to Clyde Road. Just as he crossed Konini Street, he noticed two cars coming towards him on their correct side. They were travelling at a moderate pace. The leading car passed him on the correct side, while the car behind crossed in front of him to pass him on the left. By that time, the tram was getting close to the points leading into the loop. He slowed the tram down to six miles an hour. The motor-car crossed the main line well clear of him, and, as the tram took the loop, the motor-car would, in the ordinary course, have crossed the loop line well clear of the tram. Before the motor-car reached him, Newnham came up on his left, just as the tram turned to take the loop line,- the tram then being on a slight angle, pointed across the road. He anticipated an accident and stopped the tram. He saw the motor-car driver grab at his controls and try to stop. The motor-car appeared to slow up considerably. Newnham seemed undecided and the handles of his motor-cycle wobbled. Finally, he headed for the channel at a sharp angle. The motor-car caught Newnham side on and threw him about five yards. To Mr Malley: There was ample room for the motor-car to pass between the tram and the side-channel. The tram line was in very good order and the road in a very bad state; as a result much of the traffic on the roads used the tram track.

William Robert Clarke, a tramway conductor, who was in charge of the tram-car, also gave evidence in respect to the cars passing the tram. Approaching the Clyde Road loop he said, a motor-cyclist came up alongside the tram and witness watched him pass the tram. At that moment he felt the brakes going on the tram and heard a crash. He saw the motor-cyclist land with his head over the side-channel. The motor-car stopped quickly, the wheel marks being visible for three or four yards. Constable Murphy, of Upper Riccarton station, said that Frederick Marshall, the driver of the motor-car, made a statement to him which stated that he saw an obstruction on the correct, side of the road between the tram and the channel. lie swerved and crossed in front of the tram. When he had crossed, he saw a motor-cycle approaching. In order to avoid an accident, he decided to run on to the footpath, but the motor-cyclist swerved in the same direction, a collision ensuing. A passenger in the motor-car estimated that both motor-cycle and motor-car were travelling at fifteen miles an hour. DRIVER'S EVIDENCE. The Coroner called Frederick Marshall, the driver of the car, to give evidence. The witness said he was a woolbuyer, and for the past ten years had been driving a car in England. He had never previously driven down the Riccarton Road. On the night of the accident, he noticed a tram in front of him on his own side of the road. The tram appeared to be stationary or proceeding to the city. About twenty yards from the tram, he noticed an obstacle between the tram and the gutter, but he could not remember what it was. It appeared as if it would not leave sufficient room to pass the tram on the left, so he turned to pass the tram on the right of the road. On turning to the right, he saw a motor-cycle swerve from the back of the tram which was coming towards him, he found. In the meantime, the tram had taken the loop and this forced him. further to the right. “On sighting the motor-cycle, it occurred to me that I was in a trap so far as being able to give the motorcycle a passage between me and the tram or between me and the kerb,” said witness.” Making sure the footpath was clear, I decided to climb on to it, and turned my wheel hard over to the right. At the time of the motor-car swinging to the right, the motor-cycle was keeping a more or less straight. although erratic, course, no doubt caused by seeing the motor-car. The motor-cyclist swerved sharply to the left, coming into collision near the kerb. The motor-cyclist was thrown eight or ten feet on to the footpath.” In reply to Mr Malley, the witness said he was travelling at fifteen to eighteen miles an hour. In returning his verdict, the Coroner said that there were one or two things about the accident that were striking. He thought that if it was within the knowledge of deceased that

the tram, which was proceeding in the same direction as, himself, was about to take the loop, he took ail added risk in attempting to pass on the left of the tram. If Newnham had decided to pass on the left, his proper course was to take the extreme left of the road. None of these things appeared to strike deceased, and a most unfortunate accident ensued. The Coroner could not find from the evidence that much blame, if any, was attachable to the driver of the motor-car. The driver of the motor-car did not anticipate that the tram was about to take the loop and when it did so, he took the only course that was open to him.