MOTOR FATALITY

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19983, 28 October 1927, Page 8

MOTOR FATALITY

DEATH BY DROWNING • INQUEST ON LATE MR AND MISS FROMONT An inquest into the circumstances ! surrounding the deaths of the late Paul Fromont and StehU Fromont his daughter, was held yesterday, the Coroner, (Mr J. J. Pilkington) returning- a verdict of accidental death by drowning. Evidence of identification was given by Leo Fromont. Ellen Murphy. who was a passenger in the car on the evening of October 12 said that when they were in the vicinity of the Afatarawa bridge, Froniont. who was deriving lent over to dim the lights. She thought they went out altogether for all was dark and almost immediately t'he car struck the bridge and turned over, falling into the stream. Witness, wwio was on tlie left hand side, found herself partly thrown out. She scrambled up the bank as a car pulled up. Francis Charles Gomez, motor driver, said thar at about 8 p.m. he was teaching a lady to drive a motor car on No. 3 Line. A plank sticking out on the bridge caused them to pull up and witness then noticed Miss Alurphy. Ropes were obtained but it was half an hour before the bodies could be extricated.

Charles McKinnon, a farmer residing about 30 chains from the bridge, detailed the attempts at rescue. He said that the bridge was not very wkJ*e and was more on the right-hand side of the road than on the left. Further, there were no rails on the wings les J ing up to the bridge. If a motorist was proceeding along the road at night on his correct side and the lights of his car went out, he would hit the bridge if he kept straight on. Sergt. Sivyer. who examined the bodies, said there were no marks except a small skin abrasion on Fromont’s right wrist.

The Coroner returned a verdict as above.