RUN OVER BY TRUCK.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 900, 20 August 1910, Page 6

RUN OVER BY TRUCK.

FATALITY ON DUPLICATION WORKS. , VERDICT OF "ACCIDENTAL DEATH." An unfortunate' accident, which resulted' in fcho death of a labourer nam- - cd Antonio Francis Balladdo, a Portugueso, occurred at that portion of the AVcllington-Hutt railway duplication works botiveen Ngahauranga' and Kai- . warra about 7.30 a.m. yesterday. The deceased, a cement -mixer, was at work on a mixing board,, a few feet awiy ' from tho ■ rails of a service'truck, over which light trucks were being propelled by hand. From what could be-. ' gathered shortly after, lie must have : stepped on to the track and been knocked over. No one saw the actual ' occurrence, and when his. body was ■ first observed by the men' who were pushing .the truck at the rear, life was practically extinct, the wheel of 'the truck having passed over the middle of the body, crushing the spine and internal organs. ■■•/,. ' ■ . The body was taken by a passing train to.Petone,;his place of residence, V and an inquest was held at the Rail- .'. way Station ; in the afternoon. Deceased, an elderly . man of about 70 years of age,-was a widower. He was in possession of all his facilities, and very active for his years. .As wUJ. be seen from the evidence given below,nothing was elicited at tho. inquest to indicate the imme<liat<> cause of the ao- . cident. ..'■'■■', ' . THE CORONER'S INQUEST. Mr. W: R. Haselden, District Coroner, presided at .the'inquest. Sergeant Foster. appeared for the police, while ;. tho Railway Department was represent- • '. ed by Mr.'F. C.-Widdop, District Engineer. .. . ■■.'."'•. •" . ■ According to the evidence .of Dr. Ross, medical practitioner, of Petone, the'deceased, upon examination, was quite dead. His spine was fractured,.- . there wore, also, brakes, on'.the. .body, / and his left hajid and arm were crushed. Death resulted from fracture 'of tho spinal column, there beinj* no , doubt Jhat severe internal injuries had , , also been.sustained. . '. ' • George Mason,. ganger in charge; of ; the work at' the retainrng-wall, near the scene of the accident, deposed that tho deceased Vas working in his gang. He remembered seeing tho deceased : about' five' minutes prior to the aocfdent working on the cement board; His attention was called to the accident by hearing some one call.out that there was a man under the wheel of the'railway wagon. He turned round, and saw Balladdo lying under a truck which was being shunted by some nieru on to the line. He assisted to push; the truck away, and heard Balladdo exclaim, "Oh, dear!" The man was then picked up and carried away! He had no theory as to how tie-deceased came , by his accident; Balladdo was ■ mix- : ing cement, the board being four feet to the seaward side of, the railway line. In order to get water for . the cement deceased had to cross the rail-. .. way line; "■'.'' .. William George Lintern, lab'ourer, 1 • ' employed on the ; reclamation works, said that he was assisting to push- a.. railway truck, along the line, and on V stepping off the metals saw.aman un- ' der the truck. He immediately called out to the others-to put: the brake' down, and step the truck.; He then. v ran back for a bar to stop the truck;' as ihe could see no brake on the rear end of tho truck. .' By .this'time the wheel had passed right over him. The truck was .being' pushed very slowly; along towards the mixing-board, where', deceased was-.'working. . '■'..., Other eviderice'was also, called. It. , was stated by Charles Redgrave, who was. superintending tho shunting oper.ations, ■ that though ' Balladdo. was known ,to bo. at work on the cement-', board, the. men who were pushing the. , 'truck,' being in the rear, would not be able to see him. If deceased had required to cross the lino to obtain'anything for his work, he would have had to . take a bucket. . No bucket was found near him after the accident. Frederick Charles Widdop, District Engineer, New Zealand Government Railways, who was in.charge of the ; duplication works, stated that from an! inquiry he had made into the circumstances . surrounding the accident, "he" was ' inclined to think ' that' Balladdo ■' . was.on. his way across the line to speak to/the ganger (Mason),' did not observe, (he truck in time, and in try-, ing. to get clear, must, have slipped,; judging |roin tho way he fell. Every.' precaution had been teken, N in his opinion, to see that tho line, which was merely 'a rough, "service" 1 track, was , clear, and that no blame was attach-' . able to anyone. . ' '. 1 A finding of "accidental death", was returned.'' ■ ,:. , ; .''.' ' .-'. .