EASSON’S HILL SMASH

Grey River Argus, 8 June 1943, Page 2

EASSON’S HILL SMASH

Car Driver Charged

INQUEST PROCEEDINGS CONCLUDED

In the Magistrate’s Court at Greymouth yesterday, before Mr G. G. Chisholm, S.M., Laurie Hall Wilson, licensee of the Commercial Hotel, Greymouth, was charged with negligently driving a motor car at Greymouth'on April 25 last, thereby causing the death of John William Bell, and that on the same date while in a state of intoxication he was in charge of a motor car and by act or omission in relation thereto did cause the death of John William Bell. The charges arose out of an accident early on the morning of April 25, in which a car driven by Wilson and in which Bell was a passenger, struck a power pole on Easson’s Hill. After the evidence had been heard Wilson pleaded not guilty to both charges and was committed to the Supreme Court at Greymouth on July 19, for trial. Bail was allowed in self £lOO- and two sureties of £lOO each. Senior-Sergeant G. F. Bonisch con-

ducted proceedings for the police and Mr J. W. Hannan appeared for the accused. . An inquest concerning the death of Bell was conducted at the same time as the hearing of the evidence in the charges against Wilson, and Mr Chisholm, as Coroner, returned a verdict, in .accordance with the medical evidence, that John William Bell died at Greymouth on April 2t> last, the cause of death being a fracture of the base of the skull, incurred as a result of a motor car in which he was .a passenger, and which was being driven by Laurie Hall Wilson, collided with a power pole in Alexander Street. John Joseph Wood, surveyor, of Greymouth, said that he prepared a plan of Easson’s Hill on May 17. This was produced. Stuart Graham Livingstone Rodger said that on April 24 he was licensee of the Courthouse Hotel at Kumara. On the night of April 24 he was at home at the hotel. He retired between 11 and 11.30 and got out of bed about midnight. There were three or four men in the passage, none of whom he knew. Wilson was a member of the party. They asked to be supplied with liquor. Wilson made the request, and witness at the time refused to supply them. Tt After

his refusal to supply them, Wilson told witness who he was and again asked to be supplied with liquor. Witness again refused. The men were standing in darkness and owing to that fact witness was unable to judge their condition of sobriety. Wilson asked to use the telephone, and witness told him that he did not have one. Wilson said he wanted the telephone to ring Constable Studholme. He said he could “fix it” with the constable to get a drink. In spite of all requests witness did not supply any of them with any liquor. The men all left the premises together. They had a motor-car outside, but he did not know to whom it belonged, nor who was driving it. To the Magistrate: They vyouid not be more than five or six minutes on the premises. George B. McGrath, war pensioner, residing at the Temuka Hotel, T'emuka, said that his permanent norne was at Camerons, on the West Coast. Before April 25 he left his casual employment at the Tramway Hotel, Taramakau. He did not remember whether he was at the hotel on the night of Anril 24 last. After leaving hotel he went back on certain r-ghts to give the licensee a hand. went back at five o’clock, six

o’clock, or oe.haps later in the evenHe did odd jobs around the h./e.. He used to go in the bar serv ng liquor. He did not know Mr Wilson, nor Mr Cook, nor Mr Bell. He did not see a returned soldier exhibiting a wounded arm. He could not say whether Wilson or any of his party were at the hotel on any particular night. It would have been possible for them to have been there without his knowledge. During the evening he would supply liquor to some persons who were unknown to him at the hotel. Harold Oliver Jefcoate, licensee of the Tramway Hotel, Taramakau. said he was granted the license on April 17, and took over the hotel as from about that date. Some time after midnight on April 24 and during the earlv hours of the morning of April 4 25 he was repairing the back of the premises. He heard knocking at the door and answered it himself. Mr Wilson, with three friends, was at the door. He did nol know how thev arrived. He took them into the kitchen. They were not in any other part of the hotel to his knowledge. He talked with Mr Wilson about business _ for about ten minutes and then was introduced to John William Bell and had a long conversation with him regarding witness’s experiences at the present war. No liquor was consumed durrig the conversations. None of them asked to be supplied with liquor. He would say that the men were sober when they entered the hotel and he d'd not smell any liquor on them. They were on the premises about three-quarters of an hour and the time would be about one a.m. when they left. Witness took them to the door. He presumed that they left by car, but he did not see them enter a car nor did he hear one start up. It was raining very heavily and blowing hard at the time they left. Charles George Wesley, Alexander Street, Greymouth, said that on the morning of April 25, he was walking in a northerly direction along Alexander Street and at about 3.30 a.m. would be in the vicinity of Easson’s Hill. He remembered a motor-car overtaking him on the south side of Easson’s Hill. The car had lights on which appeared to be those of an ordinary car. He would say the car was travelling at roughly 20 miles per hour. It was travelling just the same as any other car. He had tho car in view as it went over Easson’s Hill and saw it disappear over the ’mil. Immediately after he heard a loud crash and there was a vivid flash of light which lit up the whole He hurried over the hill. The <:.< was head on into a power pole and the electric wires were broken mid trailing about the car. He saw a man lying on the footpath between the car and the small concrete, fence. It appeared to him that the man had been thrown from the car. The left hand front door of the car was open. The locality was in total darkness. He did not know any of the occupants of the car at that time. Soon after witness arrived, a woman ran down the hill with a torch, and with its aid he saw that the man lying on the footpath was seriously injured. Dr. Ray arrived not long after, and witness helped to carry the injured man to the verandah of a house nearby. He was present when Dr. Ray said that the man was dead. After that witness returned to the '•ar. He saw who was in the car. Wilson was sitting behind the driving wheel. He thought Mr Cook was in the front seat but was not quite sure. There was another man in the car whom he did not know. He appeared to be on the floor. He could not tell whether the men were injur’d or not. He did not speak to any of them nor smell liquor on them. He did not go very close to any of them. It had been raining, and witness thought there might have been a slight drizzle at the time. Witness knew the localiW There was a light on the corner of Thompson Street, and he thought there was another

one on the corner of Murray Street. Usually the locality was well served by lighting, and he knew of no reason why it should not have been tnat night. The road surface was or metal. From Thompson Street to ■ Murray Street, the road was practically straight. The power pole with which the car collided was inside the kerbing on the footpath. He was . not. sure whether the car was i straight with the pole or at an angle. | To Mr Hannan: I know there is a, light at the corner of Thompson and i Alexander Streets. I am not sure if there is one at Murray Street. I| rir> nnt i.-nnw whether there was a 1

do not Know wnetner mere was a light on the pole with which the motor-car collided. The pole was .a short distance on the Murray Street side of the brow of the hill. I do not think a motor-car ascending the hill would have a view of the pole. On the south side from the brow of the hill the footpath is higher than the road. On the descent into Murray Street, the footpath and the road merge into one level, and are at about the same level where the collision occurred. The surface of the road always has a rough surface. Douglas Jasper Rutter, Alexander Street, Greymouth, said that on the night of April 24 he was awakened by a loud crashing noise. He got out of bed and found that the lights would not . work. He dressed and went outside. He saw a huge* flash coming from the electric light wires, i His house was well .above the road and from where he was he could dis- ; cern-.a motor-car up against a power pole in Alexander Street. He went. to the telephone and called the Power Board. Then the previous witness, 1 Wesley, arrived and asked that the doctor and police be rung. Witness then went down to the accident. He saw a motor-car head on to a power ■ pole. There was a man lying on the , footpath. The front left hand door I or the car was open. He noticed that j there were some other persons still in the car. He did not recognise any- I

111 Llie lai. ITU ULU, HVU iCLUgruov, unj i one then. The man on the- ground was entangled in wires and thinking ’ that the power might be still on, | witness returned to his home and > ascertained from the Power Boardi that it would be safe to move the 1 man. He returned to the scene and : said that it was quite safe. He as-i sisted with the injured person, who . was at this time on a verandah nearby. Dr. Ray was present. He > thought it would be about half an I hour after he was awakened when | he looked at his watch and saw that it was 4.45 o’clock. Hei knew the locality. There was a light on a power pole almost on top of the brow of the hill. This would be at least 40 '•ards before the pole which the car ( struck. The next light was at the ( intersection of Alexander and Murray Streets. This would be about another 40 yards from the pole which the car struck. He would saw that the hill was badly lighted. The surface of the road was of loose metal 'which was mostly worn away or had been brushed away. He would say that the surface was not smooth. The car when he saw it would be half on the footpath and half on the road. He did not know the width of the road at this particular point.

LUcIU O.L jjva.v. Dr. H. S. Ray said that at about 5 a.m. on April 25 he received a call to Easson’s Hill. He described the scene of the accident. A man, apnarently dead, was lying on the footpath. Thinking that the man might have been electrocuted, witness had him removed to the verandah of a neighbouring house where he found that he was dead, apparently due to head injuries. He then examined the men in the car more closely. The driver, Wilson, was jammed in by the steering wheel, and another man in the front seat was also wedged in. as the seat had shifted forward. Another man was lying across Jie back seat. They were all comatose and Wilson was the only one who could be roused. They all smelt strongly of alcohol, and none 'of them appeared to have any serious injury. He considered that all the men were intoxicated, and as it was a stormy morning and they were oblivious to their condition he left them in the car till the ambulance arrived. It did not arrive for over an hour, and the occupants of the car slept most of the time. About 6.30 a.m., witness examined the body d‘ Bell at the morgue at the Grey River Hospital. There was no sigii of electric burns. There were two

wounds of the scalp. Blood was issuing from the mouth, nose and rffiht ear. There was a contusion of blood about and below the left eye. These signs indicated a fracture of the base of the skull, which was apparently the cause of death. Dr. G. Orchard, House Surgeon at the Grey River Hospital, said that three men were admitted to' the hospital at about 6 a.m. on April 25. They-' appeared to have been connected with an accident. Their names were Laurie Wilson, Jack Cook and Andrew Riley. All were suffering from shock. Wilson had a fracture of three ribs on the left side, and the others had lacerations of the face. There was the smell of alcohol on the breath of all three patients. He could not say the precise effect the amount of alcohol they had consumed would have on their condition.

Constable G. S. Murray gave evidence of seeing Wilson at the hospital. Wilson admitted that he was the owner’ and driver of the car. He did not desire to make any explanation. He admitted that Bell was a passenger in the rear of the car with Riley. Constable A. E. K. Keown said that at 5 a.m. on April 25, he went to Easson’s Hill, where he found that a car facing north had collided with a power pole. He looked inside the car and found one man in the back seat and two in the front seat. The man behind the wheel had his head slumped over the wheel and witness did not then recognise him. The car was dead centre head on to the' pole. He noticed a group of men on the verandah of a house opposite. Dr. Ra- one of the group, was examining a man lying there, whom he said was dead. Witness then went back to the car. The man behind the driver’s wheel was then sitting up, and witness recognised him as Wilson. These men appeared to have suffered only minor injuries and on the doctor’s advice witness did not move them from the car at the time. There was a strong smell of liquor in the car. Wilson kept repeating "Why the hell don't you get us out lof this ?” Witness would say that Wilson was definitely drunk. H’fc i speech was disjointed and full of repetition. When he was moved to the ambulance he more or less resisted and had to be forced into the ambulance. He threatened that .he would “get” witness for this. Cook made several attempts to get out of the car and staggered about and had to be put back in the car again. Witness attributed the cause of their behaviour to drink. Had it not been for the fact that witness suspected that Wilson was suffering from internal injuries he would have had no hesitation in taking him to the Police Station to be examined for drunkenness. There was no evidence of any bottles of liquor in the car, but the interior of the car reeked with the smell of liquor. At 6.15, -a.m.. with Constable Moore, he took measurements of the. locality. The car was facing north, and had struck the power pole almost dead centre. The car was considerably damaged and the powder pole was buried in the bonnet of the car. The car chassis appeared to be buckled. The mea-' surements from the edge of the front tyre to the concrete fence was 5 ft. 11 ihs., and from the edge of the

rear tyre was 5 ft. 8 ins., which, meant that the car was actually heading back on to the road when it ■Struck the pole. There were no signs of any skid marks in the loose metal. Over one half of the motorcar was on the footpath. The car was astride of the line of the watertable. The measurement from the right hand side of the front tyre was 16 ft. 6 ins., to the edge of the road surface on the right hand side, .and from the rear wheel it was 16 ft. 4 ins. These measurements showed the actual usable surface at the point of the accident. Alexander Street was practically straight from Thompson Street to Murray Street. The road had a gravel surface which was quite solid. There was some loose gravel on the side of the road where the car collided with the pole. The road was used extensively by motor •and other traffic and witness could not see why the accident should have happened had the driver been using due care, as there was no sign of any other traffic having been on the road. There were lights on either side of the pole with which the car collided, and each was about fifty yards from the pole. The three poles were in dead fine with one another. The distance from the crest of the hill to the pole with which the car collided was 91 feet.

To Mr Hannan: The steering wheel of the car was bent downwards, witness would say by the impact forcing, the driver forward. As a result of this, the driver was pinned in and could only move his hands and arms. At the time witness thought that he might have suffered some internal injuries. The road was much the same now as at the time of the accident. At that time there was no evidence of any water table near the pole.