TARAWERA ROAD FATALITY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 76, 16 April 1937, Page 6

TARAWERA ROAD FATALITY

Witness Says Other Car Could Have Given More Room INQUIRY ADJ0URNED Owing to the fact that the evidence of the remaining passenger in the car, Arehibald Laidlaw, did not agree with that of the other passengers, the inqiiest into the death of Malcolm Carment Laidlaw, who was killed in an accident at Tarawera at Easter, was adjourned for the third time by the district coroner, Mr. J. Miller, S.M., this morning. Although three pas(3engers in the deceased's car were firmly of the opinion that the other car in the accident gave as much room on the road as possible, the last witness, who has ju'st been discharged from hospital following his injuries in the smash, stated that it did not. Sergeant G. F. Bonisch conducted the inquiry. At the first hearing the evidence of identification was given, and after the evidence of the other passengers in the car had been taken, the second hearing was adjourned pending the recovejy of the fifth passenger from his injuries. Dr. J. E. Waterworth gave evidence of the examination of the body at the morgue. There were no signs of drowning. Witness came to the conclusion that death was due to shock from a fractured chest and skull. Death had been sudden, or water would have entered the lungs. A brother of the deceased, Arehibald Laidlaw, slaughterer, of Taradale, gave evidence of the fatal car trip from the camp. The car in which the party travelled to Tarawera was his and he had driven it to a point a short distance from the scene of the accident and then changed places with his brotber. About a mile from this spot, the car waa travelling in second gear down a steep grade, when another car was noticed approaching. It had then commenced to climb the hill, and was about 40 yards away, advancing at a reasonable speed. Witness 's car pulled to the edge of the road, the near side wheels going off the running tsurface into some fern. When the cars had almost passed, witness 's car commenced to go down on the near side. The front of the car then appeared to have struck something, and went, over the bank about three yardts further on. Witness was of the opinion that the other car could have given them more of the road tsurface than it did. There was not more than a foot of space between the two cars as they passed, and witness considered that the other car could have moved three feet further over. There was no warning notice at the top of the hill, and witness conisidered that the driver of the other car was partially responsible for the accident. Sergeant Bonisch: The other three witnesses were' all of the opinion that nothing more could have been donG. : In reply to a question witness said that he would have held the car to the road if he had been at the wheel. The Coroner: Do you say the other ear waia on its correet side? Witess: I don't thik it pulled across ncarly as much as it could have done. Thete was room enough for two cars to pass, and we would not have had to pull so far to the left if it had pulled further to its left. "I thought this morning the witness would follow the other three," said tho Coroner. "It is not satisfactory to conclude the evidence there. Your evidenco amounts to the fact that the road is more than 10 feet wide. If it is only 10 feet wide, then your evidence ls mistaken. I think I'll have to adjourn the case." The hearing waa accordingly adjourned sine die, to enable further witnesses to be called, the driver of the car also concerned in the accident, the driver of a following car, and the constable at Taupo who measured the road. ,