FATAL ACCIDENT.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1418, 19 April 1912, Page 5

FATAL ACCIDENT.

, « —. — 1 YOUNG MAN KILLED AT LONGBURN. CNOCKED DOWN BY A MOTOR-CAR, (By Telet raph -Special Correspondent.) Palmerston North, April 18. A fatal accident happened at Longburn, neiair Palmerston, last night, by which a ; young man named Percy R. Field, employed at tho Longburn Post Office, lost his life. From particulars obtained by tho police it appears that just before 11 p.m. that the stationmaster (Mr. L. S. Downes) and .the clerk (Mr: Percy R. Field) walked down tho road from the station, and stopped to talk after they had gone about a hundred yards, almost opposite the sighal-box. According to tho statement made by Mr. Downes, they stood there for some little time when, all at once, Mr. Downes noticed a motor-car almost on them. He called to his companion to look out, but beforo the latter had .time to move, tho car was on top of him. It is not known just how, but tho unfortunate man was carried some % paoes in a diagonal line across the road, the car pulling up just boyond. •It : was seen at onco that Field was seriously injured, and a telephono messago was dispatched for Dr. Martin, who irrivod a few minutes later. After temporarily attending to the man's injuries, the doctor took him into a private hospital in Palmerston in his ear, where ho lay' in an unconscious state till this momingi and death took place about 7 o'clock. Medical examination showed that the base of deceased's skull was fractured. Mri, Downes states that he cannot account for not .seeing or hearing the motor-car as the night was quite clear and calm. Tho roadway, where the accident happened, is at least 30 feet wide. The motor-car was travelling towards Palmerston, and was on its proper Bide of the road. The car was driven, by Mr. J. W. Milner, of Palmerston, and beside-him was. Mr. i'lynn, a commercial traveller, the back seat being occupied by Messrs. Aldridge and Nicolson. They had taken a friend to' Longburn, and had left him just beyond the railway crossing. They noticed tho two men standing there as they wero going down. On turning to come back they had just got over the crossing a little distance when they met two cyclists, who wero travelling in the opposite direction, both with lights. They (tho' party in the car) were travelling very slowly, as they had no time to get up speed after passing the crossing. Ail are agTeed that they sounded tho horn, and how it happened they do not know, bjit suddenly they wero right on the two men, ono of whom they state jumped to tho side of the road, and the other in front of the car. Deceased comes from Waiwera South, where his parents reside. Deceased had been in Longburn about nine months. An inquest will bo held to-morrow.