WOMAN WOULD BE ALIVE IF CAR ROADWORTHY

Wanganui Chronicle, 9 September 1950, Page 8

WOMAN WOULD BE ALIVE IF CAR ROADWORTHY

“This is a sad and distressing case and there appears little doubt that the woman would have been alive today had the car been roadworthy,” said Mr. F. Forsythe, District Coroner, when giving his verdict at the inquest yesterday into the death of Kathleen Beatrice McGonagle, aged 35 years, married, with three children, of 20 Durie Vale Road, who was killed in a motor accident in the early hours of last Sunday morning. Evidence that she was the sister-in law of Mrs. McGonagle was given by Mrs. Kathleen Veronica O’Leary, of Te Awamutu. After spending the evening with some friends at Guyton Street, witness and Mr. and Mrs. McGonagle left there for Durie Vale Road in McGonagle’s oar. All three were sitting in the front seat of the 1929 model vehicle. Mrs. McGonagle was sitting on the outside near the door. Witness was driving and on turning into Durie Vale Road from Portal Street the car gathered speed. The foot brake would not work so she reached for the hand brake. The car by then had veered to the right hand side of the road. It mounted a clay bank and eventually turned over on its side. With McGonagle she climbed out of the car, but was unable to free Mrs. McGonagle from under the car. She had not consumed any liquor during the evening.

To the Coroner, witness said that she had had 11 years’ driving experience, but had not previously driven the car involved in the accident. She had had no cause to try the breaks before reaching Durie Vale Road. William John Darcy McGonagle, husband of deceased, said that he had felt ill during the evening and as a result had asked Mrs. O’Leary to drive. The car brakes had appeared in working condition when he drove to Guyton Street earlier in the evening. He did not notice his wife open the door prior to the accident. Witness said that he had not bothered to obtain a warrant of fitness for his car as he only used it occasionally round town. The last time he had had a warrant of fitness was at Christmas, 1949.

McGonagle said that when he found he could not shift his wife from under the car, he sent Mrs. O’Leary to telephone for the ambulance and he had telephoned the police. Mr. Forsythe: Were you not aware that the brakes were not good? Witness: I had never found them faulty. Clifford Herbert Kingston, a mechanic, testified that he had examined the car. The steering gear was slightly loose, but safe. No brakes were working on the rear wheels, but the front brakes were in fair order. The accelerator pedal stuck and the front door was in a decayed condition. The car was not roadworthy, he said. Medical evidence that he had performed a post mortem on the body was given by Dr. D. W. McGregor. In his opinion death was due to the dislocation of the cervical spine causing laceration of the spinal cord. Constable Smith gave evidence for the police. The case was conducted by Sergeant J. P. Clements. The Coroner returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.