FATAL TRAM ACCIDENT

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 85, 5 January 1920, Page 6

FATAL TRAM ACCIDENT

c ,,,:rpEE MEN KILLED MOTORMAN'S NECK BROKEN ;« C&R BOLTS DOWN PIRIE STREET . CRASHES INTO A MOTOR SHED DECEASED PASSENGER'S _ HEROIC ACT • excellent record of tho Wellington tramways during one of th'o busiest holi- ' day" seasons known in Wellington was , nnfortunatoly broken on Saturday oven•ipg, when a torriblo accident occurred at tho corner of Brougham and Pirio Streets,/ resulting in threo men ; being •killed, two outright, and ono as he was being conveyed to tho Hospital in an ambulance, whilst several othors woro injured, . fortunately not seriously. .., What happened could be taken in at .'.ft glance by anyone who visited the i -scene on Saturday evening. Tho motorman (Small) of an inward-bound Lyall Bay car,,after loaving tho Austin Street stopping place, on the city sido of the Kilbimie tunnel, must have lost control ■ of the car, for it simply bolted down tho grade, and instead of stopping at tho usual place on the flat, about 50 yards from Brougham Street, sped on unchecked, and coming to the bend, about , tan feet from the actual corner, it left rails- at a tromendous pace, and taking a track'on tho angle smashed through tho stout fence of the'corner i residence of Miss Collins (daughter of .the late Mr. E. P. Collins),'and thrust its ivay about five feet into tho motor : shed, the impact being so loud that it ; '"'was heard as far away as Kent Terrace and Ellico Street. The immediate and most vital result the'-accident was the death of three men: Josenh Small, motorman of the car, of Waterloo Avenue, ' James Evans, a clerk In the Base Records Office, and of 182 Sydney Street, James Alfred M'Ewan, 44 years ■ ■ of, aae, a carpenter, recently from •■ Pahiatua. , Tho injured included the,' following :- Erica. Evans, daughter of the man who was killed, a girl ten ,-,■■.. • Tears of-age, sustained two cuts on the scalp (which Dr. MTfredy attended to), and a bruiso on the '■/ leg. Conductor Frederick Ernest .. •: Quayle received a cut in tho back, ..;.- a contusion over the left kidnev, -,- and a knock on the nose. Ho was attended to by Dr, Palmer. . : His conditii-n is not serious. Honora Evans, of IS2 Sydney Street, -widow of tho man who ■wag killed, was only slightly in- "; jured,.. but is 6ufforing.'from' shock,"' - , Annie Hannigan. «ured about 12' years, whose peoole live at AshWton, and who was visiting tho late Mr. Evans and Mrs. Evans,--was slightly cut on tho' cheek. '.' JMna Hnigh, .a<md about 12 years, residing with her parents ."■'. at'Epuni Ha.mlet, Lower Hutt. ■was cut over tho right eye, and also on the elbow and arm. Sho is suffering badly from' shook and is .in the BTOURham Street Hospital. -Her condition, wob reported late last night to 1m inu proving, and she was not then -; thought to be in danger. , .'-■ -R. W. Range, a- member of the ' Central Fire Brigade, is- Buffer- . ~. -ing from, a spiatned anklo aid a ' : ~_..bruiso on the abdomen'. --;„v A, M'Stay. another member, of the Central Brigade, had an ankle sprained. Both Range and M'Star'.'who were attended to by Dr. M'Kvedy, were remeved to tho :■;■'.'Central Fire Station. ~'.-:'.-; <-•--Frank Neal, a married man [ ! ■ living at No. 7 Lincoln Street. * ' ',' "- n( l emploverl at i -"■'■'•• 'Messrs.■■-. Abraham and Willmms's I \ wool stores, is confined to his ' borne suffering from irjurjes to j •'■'•; Both knees and both hands. Fis ! condition gives no cause for J anxiotv.. <■'""■ ' M.-'Howard. Adelaide Road, siif- ] fered very slteht ininrios, as did 1 •'-''■'' also the-second purser of the 1 _ 'Afararoa. ' All of the injured are progressing fav- ( 'oarably. ' f .Tames.'Alfred MTVan, one of tho pas- ' sengere-.whowas kil'"d. \i'ai.4l vears nf ' age. I "'He came to Wellington about six ' months ago'from Pahiatua. where he ' .hod worked as a. eoachbnilder. In We!- ( '■•'lin'f'tou'he had b»en engaged as a ear- i ■penterT and_ on Saturday aftenmon he f "-•was' returiiinir from work at Fatait-ii. p . on the ill-fated tram. Ho resided in * ."•Windsor"Place, off Ghuznee Street. C ■" : " :'■'■'" ' -.-'•■'■ ' ' • . . S .nw;-Was the Motorman Conscious? <i One woman passenger is said to havenoticed, as'..'the car rushed down tho ( .. hill, that the motorman (Small) was ' ;.Waning .. forward' in a droopy manner j "over his switches, and evidence will i probably bo tendered to that effect at -the-proper, time unci place. This state- J ' ment' is in a manner endorsed by the con- I ductor, Frederick Ernest Quayle, who t told his story briefly to a Dominion c "reporter, ishilst still shaken with the " i tragic incidents of tho hour, h "The car pulled up as usual," said - c Quayle. "at tho second stop after leav- " ing tho tunnel. The car thou went on, '' .but I never noticed anything out of tho common as we went down the hill until I saw tho motorman's cap blow oil'. Seeing that, I rang tho emergency bell, p but as no notice was taken I rang it * again. There-wis no response. All the. " time tho .car was gathering way, and I kI lost 1 no -time in applying tho hand- Sl brake (at.the back of tho car), but the tl car was going at such a paco that the lv brako had little effect. Then the people- r1 in tho car got up and shouted—the car Ri left the rails and fell over after plunging v . on a few yards. I was' sonifiithero s underneath, and got knocked about a c; bit. I held on to the hand-brake to s ' the last." J? Questioned as to tho motorman, Con- ' .ductor Quayle said that as far as ho ' was aware, Motorman Small was in Hie ] best of health. Ho had not complained „ in any way of ill-health, and had j"«t j] returned from a holiday feeling very fit. -„ There were about 2-1 passengers on the r i • car. . y. A Lean for Life. si Mr. George Ulmer, of 8 Tutchen " Avenue, was proceeding up Pirie Strict v on his way homo at about 5.15 p.m. when ° ho noticed tho car coming down the R grade at a good pace. He did not take £ ■ : much notice of tho car, as trains usually , travel at a good speed down tho hill, un- 1] til ho heard a sharp scream of alarm, J and saw a little girl leaping out of tho c , flying car. Thinking for the momout, jj that tho girl had fallen out of tho car w he rushed forward to render any assistance in his power, and, as he readied her, ho heard his wife scream behind, him, and heard a sickening crash as tho •'car smashed into tho corner fence and garage. V. Who tho girl was who made such a n •daring leap for life could not be ascer- si ' tained. but Mr. Ulmer said that though ii scratched and bruised she was, after a •' few minutes able to get up and wnl!; P awav unattended, 'J " • <\ To the Rescue. t: ■'■ A scene of indescribable confusion.foi- 0 lowed the accident, The runaway car. j, nf ter •'Mviiig'the rails, raced across tKo 0 ' roiid'on an angle, ploughed across iho s footpath, butted away a stout fnnco with J] .square 8-inch posts, and burst through t ;"..the .side-wall.of a wooden motor garage, t :'turning.over on its. left- sido (looking p forward) as it burst into Hie buildinj. n The crash of the impact, the shrieks of h

Ttho imprisoned passengers, and cries of the injured could bo heard for a considerable distance around, and very soon assistanco was forthcoming from all round tho neighbourhood. Doctors wero rung up and ambulances summoned, whilst in a few minutes first aid was being rendered to the injured. The front part of the car was badly N wrecked. Tho hood was torn bodily off. and the framework on the under-side was badly shattered. Tho trollypole was pulled clean out by coining in contact with a telegraph-pole as the car sped on at an angle of 4ft degrees. The body of the ear only missed the pole by a couple of feet. Motorman Small was found hanging over his switches with his neck broken. Power Turned Off, It is understood that the lever-key used by tho motorman for regulating tho power was turned off altogether when examined after the accident. That would bo the usual thing, as the cars always descend tho Pirie Street slope on the brakes, without using any power. Power is not applied until they leave the next n stopping-place on the fla"t/(50 yards from i- tho corner of Brougham and Pirie is Streets). So that whatever happened to i. the deceased- must havo occurred imnied diately after leaving the Austin Street stopping-place. Small was a married man—a steady, roliablo motorman, who 2 had been in the service of the Municipal s Tramways for fourteen years, and ho n was regarded as one of the mos,t reliable ~ men in the service. He resided in Waterloo Avenue. .His married daugh- |. tor is Mrs. Smallbone, and his only son died of influenza in the Fcatherstnn e Camp. A Distressing Death. The second man to be lifted out was t James Evans, who was sitting on one of a tho side-seats in the forward closed com--1 partment of the combination car (No. a 105). This unfortunate man, who was D terribly injured about the body and had a foot cut oft, was still alive when lifted 3 out, and. was conscious when given a doso - of sol volatile by Dr. M, Badger (who t was quickly on 'the spot with first-aid t medicaments). The poor fellow was 1 placed in an ambulance after being tom--1 porarily attended to, but died whilst on • the way to tho Hospital. f The deceased had in his possession a i returned soldier's pay-book and v'ae ■ assumed to be a returned soldier em- : ployed as a clerk at Base Records.. His ! wife and two daughters wero riding in the car with him, and wero eye-wit- ; nesses of the fatality. ! The third man killed was James Alfred M'Ewan. His body was found under tho rear part of tho ear in a mangled condition, and for some time after the accident it was doubtful if he was an occupant of the car or a pedestrian, but Mr. J. lorns, staying at the residenco of his' sister, Mrs. Charles Palliscr' loppasito Collins's corner) was fooking out of the. window when the tramcar left the rails, and ho states that there was no one in the street, which Appears to indicate that the "deceased, who was in a frightfully mangled condition, was a passenger. Stato of the Rails. ' Tor some time past tho Tramways Department has been busying itself in renewing comer rails throughout tho system owing to the check-side or flange. , (or botti) -worn. In the case of the rajJs at tho comer of Pirio and ; Brougham Streets, the runaway car left the rails nbout ten feet from the actual corner, just whero the bend or curve in the rails begins, and there the check (or ' flat) sido is worn very low, whoreas to assist a, car in rounding a curvo, j it would Ire an advantage for that side ' of the raii to bo as high, if not a bit ' higher, than tho inside of tho rail. A ' small piece of iron or hard pebble nr'ght ' bo a sufficient obstruction to derail a ' car when the rail (or a comer) is worn i so much. Whether or not a new rail I would have helped the car to "take tho, <■ turn" at the speed tho runaway was 1 making is a matter for experts to decide. ] Tho impetus was so great that, when the , car did overturn the front bogey dug , itself-into the asphalt of the footpath, , whilst the back.part of it stood straight f up in tho air. , .EVANS'S TRAGIC END j 'ENDEAVOURING TO ASSIST \ MOTOKMAN. ' I According to tho latest accounts, it - would appear that tho unfortunate man i Evans met Ids death while in tho act ] of trying to stop tho car. In tho last , few seconds preceding tho crash he was ] seen endeavouring to lift tho motorman | up, and immediately afterwards endea- | vbur to apply tho brakes. His coura- j geous act and presence of mind undcubt- . edly cost h-'ni his life, for had he re- | maincd in tho body of the car he would ( have probably escaped with slight in- i juries. • f From all accounts, including the- stato- , ment of flip motorman on the car which | was travelling behind the runaway, it | would appear that tho deceased motorman Small became in somo means in- j capacitated when the car was about s sixtv-fivo vards on tho city sido of tho <■ tunnel i He evidently fainted,'as ho was j observed to lean forward and afterwards , fall-on tho platform. In this latter posi- s tion ho was seen by several persons, no p one then being in control of the car. It a was about this juncture that the deceas- a ed Evans went to, the motorman's assist- n anco. Prom information in possession of a the police, it would also appear that t Conductor Quayle endeavoured mi- ). successfully to apply the rear brakes, but t on account of tho steep gradient these f were not sufficient to hold 'the car. '1 Quayle. who is a single man. resides at v Ami Crescent, Lyall Buy. He is a re- n turned soldier, and only very recently t ioined the tramway service. ' I A gentleman who was a passenger hi h the ear r.n its outward iourney to Lyall h Bar, immediately T>rrwding its fatal" re- p turn ioumev to the city, states that b overvthinir about the run to t.lin Bay was absolutely normal. Th« motorman who n handed the car over to Molormrtn Small, t states ithnt the latter was perfectly nnr- n mal 'at Hie time ho commenced his run * that afternoon. <" A Passenger's Story. rIn conversation with a Dominion re- |: porter, Mr. A. J. Hunt, son of the Tiev. j. *. E. Hunt, who was a on tho c , ill-fated car at the tim« nf the accident, stated that the fir't inHmaliori tho pas- -^ sengers received that there was some- „ thing seriously amiss ws when the ear jj was in the vicinity of the Austin Street ] ( ston. Approaching tlm stop it seemed to j, gather fpoed. and it did not slop to pick 0 up a woman who was wnit'tig at the 0 stop and waving hor arms.. Instead, the n car rushed bv her at an extraordinary " speed. He then noticed the conductor P! puffing on tho rear brake, which, bad little nr no effoct, end almost at the ji same time he (Mr. Hunt) looked out to n ceo what the motorman was about. The A letter, however, was not standing by the q wheel, ,i"d could not be seen bv Mr. n Hunt. Tli" pns=pni*ors all beinn to get up, and the next he remembered was the car crashing into the enrage. Mr. . Hunt added tint so,, far as he could ] [ see tho . conductor did cvorvthim' s . in bis power to irn r f the disaster, which- in 'his (Mr. Hunt's! opinion was " caused by the motorman fainting or in n some other unknown war suddenly he- ?' coming incapacitated aftpr leaving Hi" ;' funnel.,■ Up to that juncture there had !' been nothing untoward wl ,!| t'o«"-er about , the run from the bay. Mr. Hunt was j 1 holding on to a strap-hanger when the !' car left (he vails, and ho was one of ' th" first nut, aflcv the crash, escaping !j! with a slight cut. - j, Christchurch Girl's Story. ' " By Telegraph—Press Asmiiation. | Christchurch, January -t. b Miss D. Osborne, a. Christchurch girl, n Tnado the following statement to tho pur- cl ser of the Mararoa: "[ intended board- " ing tho tram at Austin Street, but it y did not slacken speed and as it dashed " past I oxclaimed, 'The motnrmaii is '■ doivn.' I waved and called to Hie con- v ductor to go forward, but do not knmv 1' that lie saw me. As the car pusscd n the next stop « child appeared lo jump r; or to be thrown cut,-' and a few seconds ei later a man also fell or was thrown out. f: of the car. The car was going at a fast if speed and left the rails at the curve and n dashed into the corner building, over- c' turning with a dreadful smash." Ono of n the injured was .Mr. A. Wade, assistant- c purser on the Mararoa, but a wireless tl message has beon received stating that n ho is progressilng favourably, si

An Interesting Theory. Interested crowds crammed tho scene of tho tramway accident yesterday morning and afternoon. The marks on t'ho j road sihow that tho car had commenced i to make the turn into Brougham Street beforo it loft tho rails. Apparently it had commenced to fall sideways before it cleared tho rails. If the car had bccomo dorailed a few yards further back, it would havo eros.-:ed Brougham Street and plunged down tho steepest section of Pirie Street towards Kent Terrace. Tho curve in like rails at tho corner had enough effect to send the tram diagonally across the street. A telephone post standing l at the corner was not struck, but two cables ascending this post wero bent towards tho footpath, showing Unit some portion of the car touched them.

Tho distance from the Austin Street stop to tho point where tho accident occurred is alxsitt ten chains.. The motornyw, in tho ordinary course, would not have appFed power when leaving Austin Street. ITe would havo released tho brakes and allowed the car to run down the hill. Tho rapid increase in tho speed cf tho ear, however, led sonic people to bclievo that power was applied on (his occasion. An examination has .made of the brako gear with the object of ascertaining if everything was in order. The ear was so badly smashed that any evidence secured in this way may bo inconclusive. Damaged Car Removed. Some time after the accident happened a repair gang arrived on the scene from tho Newtown car sheds, and tho work of removing the damaged car was commenced. The operations were of some magnitude, Ijiit were completed about 2 o'clock yesterday morning. Tho car was jacked up and lodged upon n. couple of strong trucks, on which it was hauled to the ear sheds for repairs. • An inquest will be held opening at 11 o'clock tin's morning. It is, also understood that a. post mortem examination will bo made cf tho body of the deceased motorman.