Cars Skid In Waste Oil On Surface Of State Highway

Wanganui Chronicle, 4 September 1950, Page 4

Cars Skid In Waste Oil On Surface Of State Highway

Several complaints about waste oil on the surface of the main State highway north of Wanganui, particularly on St. John’s Hill, between the railway crossing and Parsons Street, and in the Goat Valley area, were received by the Wanganui police yesterday. A motor-cyclist, James Eyers, aged 21, of 10 George Street, Aramoho, skidded on the S bend at the top of Goat Valley Hill and received head injuries. He was taken to the Wanganui General Hospital by ambulance. It is believed that oil on the surface of the road may have caused the accident. The machine skidded and came to rest on the side of the road. A motor-car coming dowh St. John’s Hill late yesterday afternoon skidded between Parsons Street and the railway crossing. It ran off the road and crashed into the bank. IZit was only slightly damaged. A motorist who travelled south said that he first saw patches of oil on the road near Waitotara. More oil was seen in the Goat Valley area and there were further patches on St. John’s Hill. Reports suggest that Qther cars also came to rief as a result of skidding in the oil on the road, but it is not known how the oil came to be there.