TRUCK WRONGLY USED

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 280, 25 November 1937, Page 5

TRUCK WRONGLY USED

YOUNG MAN FOR SENTENCE VEHICLE REMOVED FROM GARAGE I PASSENGER INJURED AFTER A SKID i Evidence conducted by the police before Mr. J. H. Salmon, S.M., in the Wanganui Magistrate's Court yesterday, led to Ronald Neville Earnshaw, single, aged 26, pleading guilty to the unlawful conversion to his own use of an ice cream van. It was shown that accused removed the van from its garage, collected three other men, two of them sailors off an overseas vessel, and when proceeding along Heads Road met with an accident resulting in one of the passengers being precipitated through the windscreen and suffering cuts to his head. Sergeant R. J. F. Whiting conducted the prosecution. Kenneth Jamieson, secretary of Jamieson Bros., ice cream manufacturers, Wilson Street, said that his firm was the registered owner of two delivery vans. When such vans were not in use they were kept in a garage in Wilson Street. On the evening i of November 18 they were placed in I the garage about 5 p.m. and the garage locked. The key was hidden in I the factory. It was discovered about 8.5 a.m. next morning that a van was missing. It was subsequently located near the Shell oil store, Heads Road. From its appearance he would assume that it had skidded and overturned. The van was valued at £2OO. It was damaged to an extent of about £6O. Earnshaw had been employed by the firm as from September 17. He was a general factory hand and drove a van occasionally,. although he had not been able to drive when he joined the firm’s employ. He resigned his employment with the firm on November 15. Nobody had permission to drive the vans except members of the firm, who would know where the keys of the garage were hidden in the factory. Earnshaw would know where they were.

William D. Brown, of Gonville Avenue, said that on November 18 last he was driving a car along Heads Road from Castiecliff to the city about 11.40 p.m. He saw the van at the side of the road, stopped and drove back to it. There were four people there including Earnshaw. Earnshaw and another man were in the van, Earnshaw at the wheel ano ’he other man alongsiu; him. Out man was injured and the van consideiably damaged, the offside headlamp was missing and the radiator and bonnet damaged. Two of the men

were sailors. Witness later saw a series of photographs at the Wanganui detective office and one of those he identified as being that of the driver of the van. William Jones, kitchen hand empolyed at an hotel in Wanganui, said that he knew the accused as “Bluey.” Accused had once been employed in the same hotel. Witness had seen Earnshaw driving the ice cream van before. On November 18, at 9.45 p.m., witness was walking up Guyton Street and met Earnshaw, who asked witness if he would like a ride. Witness accepted it and went with accused to Castlecliff. Earnshaw went to the boat at the wharf and went on board, returning a quarter of an hour lai er with two men, strangers to witness. They all got into the van and returned to Wanganui and went to a boarding house, Earnshaw driving the van. Witness got out and Earnshaw drove away with the others. He returned with them a quarter of an hour later and witness accompanied them in the van towards Castlecliff.

"We were travelling about 60, or something like that and I told him (Earnshaw) to ease up and he replied, ‘l’m all right,’ ” witness said. Sergeant Whiting: When you were passing the Shell Oil Company’s depot what happened?—l simply couldn’t say. 1 don’t know what he did but I went through the windscreen.

Witness said that one of his feet got caught m the engine and he had ciilliculty in getting it away. Witness was rendered semi-conscious and was later attended by Dr. Anderson. Accused (cross-examining): You said I was doing 60 miles an hour?— Just on it.

Accused: I don’t think that old bus will do 60. Did you look at the speedometer to see what speed I was doing?—l could not tell by the speedometer because I didn’t understand. Constable William Trask, describing th; scene of the accident, said that he noticed a skid mark some 120 feet long from where the van finished up. That mark came from the extreme left-hand side of the road and diagonally across. There was extensive blood in the cab of the van and immediately in front of the windscreen. He would say from the skid marks that the van had got out of control and the tyres were burnt from the extensive skid they had been subjected to.

Constable Gordon Howes said that on November 19 Detective Bayliss and he made enquiries and at 8 p.m. they interviewed accused. He was collecting his personal effects and on being asked where he was going he replied that he was going down to the vessel Tymeric. Questioned about the van accused denied having any knowlegdg of it. Accused was taken to the detective office and there informed witness that he was responsible for taking the van and wanted to get the matter cleared up. A statement was typed down by witness, read over ty the accused and signed by him.

The statement was read to the court and was to the effect that when a car was passing the truck on the Heads Road Accused had swerved the latter and the accident had occurred. Accused had spent the night on the Tymeric. A further statement was made by the accused, witness stated. This was also read to the court and was to the effect that accused had endeavoured to get work on the Tymeric and had collected two members of the crew and drove about town. He knew them as “Scotty” and “Darkie.” Accused, the alleged statement proceeds, spent the night on the Tymeric and so far as he knew Jones walked back to Wanganui. Accused pleaded guilty and was committed to the Supreme Court at Wellington for sentence.