FATAL ACCIDENT.

Cromwell Argus, Volume V, Issue 268, 29 December 1874, Page 5

FATAL ACCIDENT.

Still another fatal accident has to he recorded by ns, making the third on the list within the last two months. Lately, indeed, accidents more or leas serious have been unusually frequent. The one under notice occurred on Wednesday, the 25th inst., in the afternoon, on the Queenstown road, about a mile beyond Kawarau Gorge. A man named George Hayes, in the employ of Mr Scheib, of Deep Creek, was proceeding home from Cromwell with a two-horse dray, having for loading a hogshead of beer. From the evidence of persons who saw him at the Gorge, it appears he was to some extent under the influence of liquor, hut not in any way helplessly so, or what might be called “drunk.” Previous to the accident, the person who last saw him appears to have been Mr 0. Cummins, who met him about one o’clock, near Mr T, Wilson’s residence, where his horses had “ jibbed” and had run the wheel of the dray so close to the edge of the road that Mr Cummins cautioned him, saying if he did not mind he would be in the river. Thereafter he was not seen until he was found by a son of Mr T. Wilson’s about five or six o’clock in the evening, lying at the side of the road insensible. It would appear that his horses, —or horse rather, for one of them was tied to the dray behind—backed down a slight rise, and ran the dray over the bank. The hogshead rolled out ef the cart, and over the unfortunate Hayes, landing on a ledge some thirty feet down. The distance from the road to the river’s edge is about 150 feet, and the dray must have gone the whole way to the river, for nothing but half of one of the shafts has ever been seen of it. How the horses got clear is a mystery, for except with the pulling of the one tied behind, it is almost impossible that the dray could have passed the ledge referred to; but get clear they did, and fed quietly round about, Hayes, as we have said, was insensible when found. He was taken to a roadman’s hut in the vicinity, and during the night he became conscious, and explained to the roadman?who gave evidence at the inquest) how the accident occurred and how he got hurt. Sometime early on the morning of Thursday, he died. Dr Stirling made a post-mortem examination, and found the injuries very severe, ribs on both sides being broken, besides other internal and severe injuries which rendered it a matter of wonder how he lived so long. Sergeant Cassds, who was informed of the accident on the Wednesday evening, and who visited the sufferer about eleven o’clock, says he did not appear to be in very great pain, and he did not give the sergeant any idea of being in danger. On Thursday, his body was removed to the Shucers’ Arms Hotel, where an inquest was held, and a verdict returned in accordance with the evidence. The body was interred in the Cromwell Cemetery on Christmas evening. Hayes was a native of the United States and was fifty-seven years old.