TARAWERA ROAD FATALITY

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 80, 21 April 1937, Page 12

TARAWERA ROAD FATAIITY

No Blame Attachable To Drivers of Other Cars INQUEST CONCLUDES Emphasing that no blame was attachable to the drivers of the other two cars, the dhstrict coroner, Mr J. Miller, S.M., gave as his verdlct that Malcolm Carment Laidlaw, who was killed in an accident near Tarawera On Good Friday, met his death through shock from fraetures of the skull and chest when his car left the road, at the resumed inqueet coneluded at the Napier Courthouse late yesterday afternoon. The inquiry had been twice adjourned, the secoad timo being when a brother of the deeeased stated that the car whieh they had passed just prior to the accident had not given enough room on the road. Further evidonce called yesterday,- however, clearly showed that this was not eorrect. Sergeaiit G. F. Bonisch eonducted the inquiry, the relatives of the deeeased being represented, by Mr J. C. Runciman. Edith Frances Allan, of Hatuma, said that on ' Good Friday she was one _ of four in a car proceeding from Napier to Taupo. Witness said that the car was a late model, in good order, and that she had 10 years' driving experience. At 11.30 that morning the ' car arrived at the foot of the Old Orchard Hill, on the Taupo road, between Tarawera and Rangitaike. The car eontinued to climb the steep hill in second gear, and was almost at the top when witness eaw another car approaching. The road on the hill was fairly narrow, and in parts it was not safe for two cars to pass. Witness pulled over as far as possible to the left side of the. road, travelling at from 20 to 23 miles an hour, leaving as much room as possible for the other ear. The xoad was 12 feet wide at the point of passing, and the other car got : past safely. Until her attention was drawn to the accident by one * of the passengers in the car, witness did not know that anything had happened. When the car passed, they wero only 10 yards from a widened portion of the road, constructed specially to allow cars to pass. The Coroner: Where wks the car whon you saw it first? Witness: He was approaching the reeess. Sergeant Bonisch: So there was no reason why he should not have s'een vnn ?

Witness: No. Wheela on Edge. Continuing her evidence, witness said that the bank above the xoad was a rock face, almost perpendicular, with a water-table at the base. The wheels of defendant's car were on the edge of the water-table, and there was no eign that the other cstr was in diffieulty. While the car approaehed the hill, witness had been warned by a passenger in her car, who had considerable experience of the road, to be careful on the return journey. The outside edge of the road was apt to be loosely built and treaeherous. Witness did not think that it was safe for another car to pass as it did on that section of the xoad. Evidence regarding the locality of the accident was given by Constable Miehael McNulty. The. deeeased 's car was in a creek, about 45 feet below the roadway-. This road had a level pumice surface, with a streteh of about 100 yards of straight road, and at least .150 yards visibility. The car left the road roughly half-way along the straight, and about 25 yards from the recess. Marks on the road showed that the deeeased had been travelling well in on the correct side of the road, until he xeached a Toot stieking up, partly in -the braeken, and partly on the xoad. The root would be invisible to the driver of a car. One of the Tear wheels of deeeased ;s car struck tho root and mounted a ledge, about a foot wide, on *fche edge of the xoad. The car xan at ieast 22 yards along the ledge before it f-oppled over the bank, somersaulting at least once. At the point where the car finally left the xoad, the usable portion of the xoad was 12 feet in width. There were no skid marks on the roadway. The variations in the width of the road were due to protruding rocks on the bank above the road. Witness did not consider that a careful driver would attempt to pass another car at that ioeality, on aecount of the narrowne§6 of the road. A Waipukurau xesident, Charles Rupert St. Clair Inglis, said that he overtook a Chevrolet car on the hjll where the fatality occurred, and travelled np the hill about 50 yards bphind it. Witness did not see the oncoming car until it wa-s in the act of passing Miss Allan 's car. The Jatter was then travelling with the near gide wheels running long the edge of the water-table, pulling to the left of thp rpad to do so. The oncoming par had all four wheels on the running surfaee pf the xoad, Witness then saw that the car was about to pass hjm, and watehed the bank? keeping well over to tho left. After passing the Chevrolet, the oncoming vehicle travelled aljput 20 yards on the left of the road, travelled a further 20 yards, and finally went over. Witness did not eonsider that it was safe for two cars to pass on the rqad, and did not think that the ear he was following was in any way responsiblo for the accident. A Gravo RiskTo Mr Runeiman, witness said that Miss Allan would have run a grave risk pf hitting the bank had she gone into the water-table in an effort to avoid the other car. One of the passengers in Miss Allan 's car, George Franeis Grant Metealf, of ' Taradale, eleetrical inspeetor to the Napier Borough Council, gave details of the accident oimilar to those given by other witnesses. In reply to the coroner, witness said that had the folI lowing car not been there, deeeased \ could have 'pulled out to thp centre of the road. He was of the opinion that a careful driver would not have attempted to pass at that point. ' • Jack Cecil Kvuahk&fl pf Napier, aur-

veyor's assistant, said he set out on a motor-eycle from Napier to Wairakei on Good Friday. He was overtaken by a Chevrolet car past Tarawera, and later by another near the Ql.d Orchard HilL When it was about 50 yards behind, he saw a car coming from the opposite direction, on the top of the hill. Witness did not actually see the deeeased 's car pass Miss Allan Js yehicle. To Mr Runciman, witness said that through the gap between Inglis 's car and the bank, he eould see portion of Miss Allan ;s car, including part of the hood. Sergeant G. F. Bonisch comp'ieted the evidence, giving a deseription of the body of the deeeased as it appeare.d at the morgue. "The case reveals a distressing set of circumstances in which a young man lost his life," said the coroner. "It has been proved that Miss Allan pulled as far as she eould to the correct side of the road. There can be no blame attached to her or to the driver of fche following car. Deeeased took the risk, and would probably have got through with it if it had not been for the stump at the side of the road. He rightly judged that he could pass the one car he saw, bat he should have made eure that there was only one car. In view of the evidenee overwhelmingly pointing in one direction, I shall include that in my yerdict. "The deeeased, Malcolm Carment Laidlaw, met his death from shock and fracture of the chest and skull, as a result of his car leaving the main road near Tarawera. I shall add the rider that no blame is attachable to the driver of the other car,"