ACCIDENTS.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1451, 9 February 1885, Page 2

ACCIDENTS.

Oamaru, Yesterday,

A narrow escape from a serious accident happened at the railway crossing on Saturday evening. As the ballast train from the South was coming up to the crossing, a buggy, with five persons in it, drove on to the line, and before the driver could do anything in order to clear the line, the engine struck the buggy, throwing the occupants out, but fortunately clear of the line, so that beyond a few cuts and bruises no injury was done. Had any of the occupants of the trap been thrown on to the line, the result of course would have been serious. The watchman had gone home previous to the train passing, so that there was no one to warn the driver of his danger.

Dunedin, Yesterday. Mr Wm. Bridgman, of Glen Tannery, and ex-Mayor of Caveraham, had a narrow escape from death on the railway line ou Saturday forenoon. He was making a short cut to the railway station along the line, when the II a.m. in train came up behind him. The engine driver whistled long and loud, but Mr Bridgman was absorbed in thougnt. The train was at his heels before he knew anything about it. He made a spring, but was too late, and the cowcatcher knocked him off the line. Happily the speed was slow, and when the guard picked him up he had only got a slight scalp wound, in addition to a very severe fright. A boy named Samuel Cooper, son of William Cooper, carpenter, aged thirteen, was drowned while bathing in the-surf at St Glair on Satmd y afternoon. There were numbers bathing, but nobody saw him drown, and his clothes being found on *he beach led to the knowledge that ho was mining. He could not swim. 1 ; '