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MOTORMAN ON TRIAL

Sequel To Kilbirnie Tram Smash

MANSLAUGHTER ALLEGED

As a sequel to the capsizing of a f ullyladen tramcar at the intersection of Coutts Street and Onepu Road, Kilbirnie, on the evening of June 12 last, Donald Norman Mac Lean, the driver of the tram, aged 33, was charged in the Supreme Court, Wellington, yesterday with committing manslaughter by causing the death of Leading Aircraftman James Edward Kerr. R.N.Z.A.E., aged 2i. Iwenv,'eight other passengers were injured in th The“case was heard before Mr. Justice Smith and a jury of 12. Mr. M. H. Cunningham conducted the prosecution tor the Crown and Mr. 11,I 1 , w. Ongley appeared for accused, who pleaded not SU George James Cook, ambulance driver, said he received a call to Kilbirnie about 7.30 p.m. on June 12 last. He found a tram lying on its side, w’ith two people lying on the roadway. One ot these was James Edward Kerr, who had received very severe head injuries. Dr. Elsie Craig Gibbons, house su--geon at Wellington Hospital, said Keir was deeply when admitted to the hospital about .8 p.m. He was suffering from head injuries and died a few hours after having been admitted. John Lee Walker, tramway inspector, said he was in charge of the tramway pm. shift on June 12 last. Accused due to report that day at 3.2 J p.m., but did not do so till 3.45 p.m. Another man had to be put in his place to take ta. tram which he should have taken When he did arrive, he said he had made ia nintake in the signing-on time. M itness toil him to pick his tram up when it returned at 445 p.m. Witness did not notice any si-ns of liquor on accused that afternoon. There were automatic points at the intersection of Coutts Street and Onepu Road and if a motorman wanted to turn into Onepu Road he coasted with power on. All motormen knew the method of woi-x in"- the automatic points, which worked well Tramway rules prohibited liquor ..e--ing taken on to the trams by employees ° £ Kathleen* Hensen said she; was conductress on the tram which capsized nt Kilbirnie on June 'l2 last. Accused was the motorman for her car that but was not there to take thecar out at *> ‘-iO n m and another mo tor man iook his place." When the car got back shortly before 5 p.m., witness saw accused, wno appeared to be unsteady on his feet, aul appeared to be drunk. Accused drove the car on the Seatoun run, leaving Lambton about 5 p.m., and his driving on that trip was quite all right. On this trip the indication lights were faulty, andl rectifying these witness pulled accused s overcoat down and in this witness noticed a bottle of beer. They left Lambton on the next trip at 6.19 p.m., and accused again drove well. On the way out he overran the loop opposite Scots Colhge slightly. At Seatoun accused disappeaied for a time, and witness changed the centals fo” himi The car that night was of the Fiducia type. There was another tram at Seatoun, and the motorman of Ms car told accused to RO straight through on the trip back to. the city, meaning that the tram Rowing w.onld pick up any passengers who might e waiting. The tram was crowded on the night of June 12 when the accident occurred. She noticed that the car after leavin- Tirangi Road was travelling faster'"than it should have been.. lhe pace did not slacken till the car capsized Witness was concerned about the speed, and she heard some of the passengers commentiii" upon it. When the car overtoned witness climbed through an open window and did what she could to assist the injured. The speed of the tram that night was far greater than she had expea enced iu her nine months service. Cross-examined by Mr. Ongley. witness said the-bottle of beer was still in accused’s overcoat pocket after the accident. Norman Bertie Burridge tramway disnatcher. said he was on duty in the afternoon of June 12 last nt Lambton Accused was late in reporting for duty that day, and he was too late to take out his car at 339 p. in. Witness first saw accused about 6 p.m., when he appeared perfectly S& Neil Frederick Alexander, insurance clerk, said he was a passenger on the tram which capsized. He took the car at Seatoun. and there was a standing load coming in from Seatoun that night. As thev passed Strathmore Park, he noticed that the speed was fast. The speed also appeared to be fast opposite Rongotai College, and the car lurched violently taking the bend here. . The tram continued at a rapid pace till it capsized. Cross-examined by Mr. Ongley, witness said the pole did not come off the tram on the run in from Seatoun that night.

Passengers Become Panickj'.

Kingi Tahiwi, interpreter employed by the Native Department, said he was a passenger on the tram which capsized, boarding it at Miramar Junction As the car approached from Scots Golle o e, ne noticed that it was swaying. Taking the bend opposite Rongotai College the car lurched, and he noticed that the Pass?n"ers were becoming panicky. t lassing along Coutts Street, he imagined .the windows were rSttling, but he had suiee been told that this noise was caused by the gears of the car-creaking through the excessive pace at which the car was travelling. Witness became so alarmed that he made up his mind to get oil at the Kilbirnie Post Office. To Mr. Ongley, he said that, as a tiam passenger of long experience, he could say that the car that night was trave ling at a much faster pace than be had been accustomed to. . , Percy Roy Paul, pilot officer m the Roval New Zealand Air Force, stationed at Rongotai, said he boarded the tram at Tirangi Road. The car started before be got on board, but he managed to get on. He was standing on the rear platform, and the speed appeared to increase greatly after reaching Coutts Street. Mitness was thrown out when the tram capsized, and broke a shoulder and a couple of ribs. Bertie John Child, a corporal in the R.N.Z.A.F., stationed at Rongotai, said the motorman appeared to be in a hurry, and told them to get on quickly at Lirangi Road. The passengers were swaying as the car proceeded, and they had a very fast ride, much faster than he had been used to travelling on that route. There was no slackening of speed till the car capsized. . Gwendoline Matheson, sergeant m the RN Z A F. Auxiliary, said she boarded the tram at Tirangi Road. The speed appeared to be much faster than she was accustomed to. Eric Stanley Russell, a sergeant in the R.N.Z.A.F., said that his attention was drawn to the traincar by the noise it was making and the rapid pace it was travelling when approaching the turn-on. from Coutts Street into Onepti Road, and he was apprehensive that something was goin- to happen. The front bogey jumped the rails at the turn, and the car capsized. He attributed the cause of the accident to excessive speed. David Roy McLaughlin, leading aircraftsman in the R.N.Z.A.F., said he witnessed the capsize of the tramcar. J lie car approached at a very fast .pace, and did not attempt to slow up Witness, was very much concerned. He estimated the speed nt from 30 to 40 miles nn hour. . Fred Stanley Whaler, machinist, said ho witnessed the accident. The tram appeared to be coming very fast, and did not appear to slacken speed. Witness estimated the speed at 00 miles an hour. . . The hearing will be continued this morniug.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19431020.2.58

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 21, 20 October 1943, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
1,301

MOTORMAN ON TRIAL Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 21, 20 October 1943, Page 6

MOTORMAN ON TRIAL Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 21, 20 October 1943, Page 6

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