TARNDALE ACCIDENT

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVI, Issue 20087, 6 November 1939, Page 6

TARNDALE ACCIDENT

TWO SERIOUSLY HURT LONG WAIT FOR HELP } ( ) HOURS' EXPOSURE Failing to negotiate a bend on the Tarndale road on Friday evening, a car containing two employees of the Waikohu County Council left the road and rolled down a bank for about a chain. The men suffered severe injuries and lay exposed to the elements for 19 hours before their plight was discovered. The victims were:— Edward William Bell, the driver, aged 48, married, Te Karaka, grader driver, fractured ribs and collarbone and suffering from exposure. Thomas Melville, aged 37, single, Te Karaka, mechanic and navvy operator, compound fracture of the leg ancl suffering from exposure.

The accident took place about 5 p.m. ; on Friday when the men were returnimg to Te Karaka from Upper j Tarndale. They had been engaged on ■ the repair of one of the council’s | power graders, and were returning to Te Karaka with the damaged part. At ! a point about three miles from the i Armstrong road turn-off. or 18 miles I from Whatatutu, their car, a two- ■ seater roadster, left the road and , rolled down a steep bank, finishing up : about a chain from the road. Both occupants were thrown clear as the car rolled down, and they suffered severe injuries and were unable to move from their positions. They lay alongside the car exposed to the I severe weather and occasional showers ! of rain throughout the night and well ; on into the next day. Absence Caused No Concern | No concern had been occasioned by their absence from Te Karaka as they were not expected back until Saturday. They had completed, however, the dismantling of the damaged part earlier than anticipated.

Their plight was not discovered until about noon on Saturday, when a roadman, Mr. Sydney Tipene, and three other Maoris, Messrs. Morris (2), and Jonah Johnson, who were making their way into Te Karaka, passed the spot. They heard Mr. Melville’s cries for help and found the injured men down the bank. Unable to render much assistance, the Maoris hurried to Whatatutu and reported the accident. Mr. Cliff Gregory lost no time in going to the help of the injured men with what gear he could quickly gather together. , In the meantime a message was sent to Mr. A. G. Lucas, county engineer, who dispatched a relief party from Te Karaka and requisitioned the services of a doctor and the St. John Ambulance from Gisborne. Everything possible was done for the injured men, first-aid equipment, with food and clothing, being sent out. The task set the rescuers was made difficult because of the greasy condition of the road. Mr. Gregory and the council’s relief party rendered what assistance was possible, and, placing the injured men on stretchers, they conveyed them on one of the trucks to a point where they met the doctor and the ambulance.

The injured men were admitted to the Cook Hospital at 4.45 p.m., nearly 24 hours after the mishap occurred. Mr. Bell’s condition remained very grave throughout the week-end, and this morning it was reported that he was a little better. Mr. Melville’s condition was satisfactory yesterday, and by this morning he had shown a little improvement.