COUNTY SUED FOR DAMAGES

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 40, 3 March 1937, Page 5

COUNTY SUED FOR DAMAGES

Preaa Association.)

Accident on Newly-Sealed Road NEGLIGENCE ALLEGfD

(By Telegraph—

WELLINGTON, This Day. The responsibility for a motor accident caused by; a skid on a newly tarseale.d road has to be determine.d by a jury of 12 in the Supreme Court. The case is brought by Emily Aunie Freeman, women 's toilet specialist, against the Eketahuna County Council in a suit for £1125 4/6 damages. She claims that on March 22 of last year she was a passenger in a car driven by her sister from Dannevirke to Mauriceville. At a place seven miles from Eketahuna the car skidded, left the road and overturned, and the accident is alleged to be. due to the negli-' genee of the County Council, its contractors and otherg m making or leaving the highway in an unsafe condition, resurfacing the highway without providing a temporary or alternative road, spreading an excessive quantity of tar-sealing preparation, leaving the surface without sufficient chips to prevent the surface becoming slippery, failing to give notice of the dangerous nature of the surface and failing to take precautions for the safety of usexs of the highway. As a result of the accident, she claims, she suffered a wrisfc injury and will be , permanently partially disabled. The council admits that the accident occurred on a road under its control but denies all the other allegations and, as a further defence, says that before the accident it had entered into a contract with Matthews and Kirkby for the doing of the work, entailing, inter alia, the placing on the road of a coa. of light tar priming. That was done on the Wednesday before the accident and the road was opened for traffic on Friday. ' The council says it was obvious to any driver that work was in' progress and there were notices calling for caution and limiting the speefi. In further defence it is claimed that the accident was caused by the negligence and unsldlful conduct of the driver of the car in failing to control che. car and for driving at an excessive spdedThe case is proceeaing. Mr Justice Smith is on the Benck,