STRUCK BY CAR.

Star (Christchurch), Volume LXVI, Issue 20425, 2 October 1934, Page 4

STRUCK BY CAR.

Man Hurled Against a Tram. AUCKLAND FATALITY. Per Press Association. AUCKLAND, October 1. An inquest into the death of Edmund George Stephen Coppinger, aged thirty-nine years, of Remuera, was concluded by Mr W. R. M'Kean, Corcner. Deceased, who was emploj'ed by L. D. Nathan and Co., Ltd., as a storeman, received fatal injuries when | he was knocked down by a car driven i by Frederick William Whittaker, a re- j tired farmer, of Gladstone Road, short- ! Iv after 8 p.m. .on September 18, near the intersection of Customs and Fort Streets. At the inquest Mr Goldstine watched the proceedings for the widow of deceased and Mr Schramm appeared for Whittaker. William Henry Kitto, a packer employed by L. D. Nathan and Co., said that he was walking along Fort Street in company with deceased. At the intersection witness left Coppinger. “I had gone about thirty-five feet when my attention was drawn to a car coming along Beach Road towards the city,” witness said. “It was the speed of the car—easily in excess of forty miles an hour—that made me look. Almost immediately after looking I saw the car strike Coppinger and I saw a parcel of wood he was carrying go hurtling over the car. There was a tram approaching in the direction and I heard the screeching of its brakes. The car carried Coppinger some distance, and the next thing I saw was Coppinger being thrown against the tram, which by this time appeared to have come to a standstill.” Eight Feet in Air. George Fowlis, a motorman, said that he was driving a tram along Customs Street towards Remuera. As witness was approaching Fort Street he noticed a man starting to cross Customs Street as if he intended to be a passenger on the tram. When the man was about two yards from the footpath witness noticed the headlights of a car at least. 100 yards away. The car struck the man when he was about four feet from the inward rails. “It appeared as if the man was j thrown right into the air,” witness con- j tinned. “He passed the side of mv ! cabin about eight feet in the air and j struck the tram about two feet behind the front gate. Right up to the time of the impact I did not expect that there would be an accident, as there appeared to be plenty of room for the car to miss the pedestrian. At the time of the impact I consider the car was travelling at between forty-five and j fifty-five miles an hour.” “ I Did It.” Witness said that after the accident j he walked along in the direction the j car had taken and met a man coming ! towards the scene of the accident. Wit- j ness asked the man if he had seen the ; car which had been involved, and the j man replied. “I did it, but I never saw him.” Witness noticed that the man’s ! breath smelt of liquor, but he was s steady on his feet and his speech was i not affected. Mrs Edith Bowles gave evidence that she was standing in Fort Street when she noticed a man with a bag start to run across the street as if trying to catch a tram. He appeared to have his head down and did not seem to be looking for traffic. Witness saw the car strike the man. She did not notice anv difference in the speed of the car after the impact. It appeared to her that, from the way the car continued on. the driver did not know he had struck anyone. She noticed nothing unusual in the speed of the car. The Coroner returned a verdict that the actual cause of death was concussion, serious shock and haemorrhage following injuries received by deceased as a result of his being struck by a motor-car driven by Whittaker. “I will not make any further comments on the matter at the present time,” Mr M’Kean added.