THE RAILWAY COLLISION

Gisborne Times, Volume VII, Issue 397, 23 April 1902, Page 2

THE RAILWAY COLLISION

CONFUSION OF MESSAGES,

By Telegraph—Press Association. Dunedin, last night. The cause of the railway accident was owing to the guard and driver of the up

train missing instructions. The down train was running late, and the usual crossing place was altered from Pareora to Hindon. The guard of the up train was instructed at Wingatui to cross the down train at Hindon. On arriving at Hindon, he should have waited there till the other came through, but apparently confused these instructions with a mossago received by telephone at Hindon to cross another train at Barewood. At any rate, he proceeded on Iris way, and within a very few minutes after leaving Hindon collided with the down train. Though the trains are said to have been travelling slowly when the collision occurred, they must have come together with great force, from the fact that one of the carriages was telescoped into another within six feet of the end.

The carriage that suffered most was

the front one of the down train, and in tho front compartment were several passengers. In the second compartment, it appears, the only occupant was a man who had lost one leg, but fortunately he was sitting at the forward end when the next carriage came crashing through, He had a most miraculous escape. Immediately on receipt of the news of the accident, a breakdown train was despatched from Dunedin, conveying Dr MacDonald and ambulance appliances to the scene of tho collision. This left

Dunedin at 8 p.m., and arrived there shortly before 9.30. No time was lost by Dr MacDonald in getting to work to attend to the injured, and ho soon found nobody was dangerously hurt, with the exception of Fireman Ewat. Sergeant-Major Cardale sustained a cut above the eye, and had his left hand badly injured. One finger was completelysmashed. He stated that he was flung from the carriage platform over the cliff, and fell a distance of almost 30 feet in tho direction of the river. Ewat, the fireman, who was at first

supposedjo have had his leg fractured, sustained a dislocation of the hip, and was on tho arrival of the breakdown train at Dunedin removed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Mrs Reid, who was ono of tho few ladies travelling, was slightly out about the head and face, and Mr Taylor was bruised about the leg. Martin, driver of tho up train, got a bit of a knocking about, but was only very slightly hurt, and a few passengers other than those mentioned received a slight shaking.