Fatal Accident at Levin

Horowhenua Chronicle, 25 July 1913, Page 2

Fatal Accident at Levin

(JUL!OLEICS ISQL"EST

At the Courthouse yesterday morning, Mr W. C. Nation, coroner, held an inquiry into the causes of the death of Ariki .Uaorao (known as Alick), who was knocked down by a motor car close, to the Post Office on the afternoon of 10th July. The inquiry was adjourned from Thursday, the ITtn, to enable a post mortem examination to be made to settle whether dedeceased's death was caused by being struck by the motor car, or the fall which followed. Constable Jiagrie conducted t he case. Fergus 11. Young, sworn, said : 1 am certified medical practitioner residing at Levin. I remember the afternoon of loth .July. About 'Z o'clock I Mas called to see Ariki 1.1 ao;ao, who was said to have lieen knocked down lfy a motor car. lie was suffering from shock, but was conscious. There was no external mark's of injury, but he had pain behind the right oar. The man had J>een drinking, and smelt strongly of :l. I found him lying in a milliard saloon and I advised nis friends to keep him there '•or some time and then take '•harge of him. I did not an;ieipate any serious consequences just then. 1 asked liini where he was sulTering and •ie put his hand behind his bead. 1 saw him again a! drs Hector McDonald's house at Hokio on \\ ednesday I'oreiooii, Kith July, and 1 found \riki unconscious and sullcr;ng from exposure. There appeared to be no hope of his recovery. He was unconscious, but his limbs were not paralvs;,(i- He died about half past iwo, shortly after 1 left him. j found him at Mrs McDonald's House, in the kitchen, and un-.!'. v my supervision lie was shifted :o a house about 100 yards dis■'l' 1 '- I may say that round nis right eye 1 found a suffusion '■i blood; there was also an abrasion on his right arm. He •\as not in ;i lit state to remove ; u i» hospital. Everything • hat could be done was done for I had communicated ■villi the police and the result '■'•'as a posl mortem ordered bv !lie coroner. ()n |he afternoon of the 17th J ill \- I made

a post mortem examination ol : 1"' body. (hi examination of the skull 1 found an extravasation of blood extending from

ibove the right eye to beliim

ihe right ear, and over fhr vault of the skull. Beneath

his a fracture of the skill vas found extending from be

linds the right ear to the vault

■d I' l *' skull, and a smallei tract ure running parallel to • his, two niches posteriallv. Ili is <j ii it e accounted J'or the uian s death. Death resulted ;l fracture if the skull accelerated by exposure. It is

• Utile possible for inm, j|, |,j s condition, with a fractured k 1111, lo walk several miles. I do not think that deceased could have recovered even without the exposure. He may have lived

a day longer. He was an elderly man, and Ins condition physically was verv low.

Kingi Jlori deposed : J reside in Levin ;ind knew the deceased, Ariki llaorao. lie was my uncle, and resided in (he Arapaepae road, Levin. I saw ]iin) on loth July in (lie main street of Levin between II a.m. and 12 noon. Me was drinking, but I can not say that lie was drunk. 1 saw liim attain in the afternoon in front of the Levin Hotel. I spoke to liini and he was sensible enough in wlmt lie said. Later on, that afternoon, about 'J or ■'! o'clock. I saw him walking across Queen Si reel from (jibson's blacksmith shop towards the I'osl Office corner. At the same time I saw a motor car coming from (lie railway line to (he Post Office corner. The car was sounding the horn: Ariki lica rd it. He was in the mid - ll ( ' oj the street, and he ran Inwards the grass on the side (if the road to »'et on to the footpath, before 1 lie car passed him. When Ariki was in the middle of tell road the car swerved to the left Jo pass him. and did so, but Ariki was still noing to- | wards the J'osl Office, and the

car did nol {|iii(e clear him in lime, and lie was struck bv the side of I lie car near the back "heel. It spun lum round and he fell on h is liac k. When he i< ll I lie ear slopped about I'ou yards from him. 1 ran to Ariki, and the two men in the car s'oi 01,1 helped to fifi him up and i-airy him into .Tenman's billiard saloon where J)r Young examined lum. We took him li'oni there to the club room id' the hotel, where lie lay for a while. J If was afterwards taken to my mother's house at Weraroa, and put to bed alongside a fire. I saw him (here at. 0 o'clock and spoke to him. He replied, but 1 could .not understand what he was saying. I left the house after tea and returned aboul T.-i(l or quarter lo eight. Ariki was not there. He had left. T inquired and no one had noticed him leave. He If ft his overcoat, ordinary coal and his boots behind, also his hat. When i discovered tliis I came into town to look for him, but could find no trace of him. f did not go to the police as I thought he might

have gone to some of the Maori places ai W'eraroa. Tlio i<oxi* morning 1 searched again and "went out to his home on the Arapaepae road. There was no sign of him. 1 afterwards learned that lie was at Mrs Hector McDonald's place at Hokio. 1 went out to see him and found him there, and 1. helped to shift him to Mrs Simeon's house not far away. This is the last time I saw him alive

Puku Wilson, sworn : 1 reside in Devin and knew the deceased Ariki well. lie was my grandfather. . " do not know his age I remember seeing him on Tuesday, loth July, about •! o'clock, going, towards Gibson's black-

smith shop; then I saw him return. lie was crossing Queen street, and as he was crossing a

motor ear cuiiU' behind and was sounding the horn. Ariki tried to run towards the l'ost Office and ran into the ear as it was passing him. "The ear .vas nearly past when it struck Ariki with the hinder part and twisted him round; then he fell iipon his back. Ihe ear stopped at once, and Ariki was close io the car when it stopped. The car was not coming fast. Jt

ippeared to be going slow

vas talking to Ariki licfore the accident. lie 11:i(1 hud a few (1 rinks, but he knew what he was doing. Ariki had ;ui accident vi 1!i a motor car .sonic months -iff"-

J. X. Winteringhani, sworn: i am a clerk in the Postal Detriment at Levin. Between •> and It) minutes past two on Tuesday, loth July, 1 was

landing on the Post Office cor-

ner and saw a car coining over ihe railway crossing. When in front of Hifchings and Hankins depot, Ihe driver of flic

car blow the horn before coming to the corner. .1 did not

:('(■ the Maori crossing the road, ■ nil ./ saw him when the driver d the car called Io him to °"l- The Maori was hen a couple of paces from the

ar and did not seem to hear

.'he warning, but appeared to be walking with his head down looking at the ground. Ii looked as il he walked straight info the back of (he car. The

ar stopped within two or three yards after the man was struck it pulled up very quickly. .1 ilu-n went into the office and .'ang up the doctor, as I saw the nan was injured. . When the lriver blew his horn he was dackening up to take Ihe eor:ier. Hora .McDonald, sworn: .1 e.side at Ijokio. with my mo- ' liei\ al)ouf four or Jive'miles jroni Levin. 1 remember \\ ednesday morning, Kith July. .Mother woke me bv saying she heard a groaning •loise. 1 listened, and got up '<> see. When I went to the •Tont door 1 saw a man lying nsidc the fence. I went to •ii" and found it was Ariki. i then asked my sister to go >vcr to .Mrs Simeon s place for :i( 'l]'- Ai'iki was lying partiv lpon his side and groaning. He had a stick, which L took. i>e did not speak only groan,(l. He had on onlv trousers '"(I shirt. With assistance we V<>l him inside our house and hen came into town for Dr Vounu* Aliki was, I think, ibout sixty years of age, and I 'ta ve k';ov. n him all my life. Sle\\arl "Wilson .Mitchell, : I am a farmer residing it Kairanga, and Mas driving a notor car through Levin on '•»th .July. After crossing the; 'ailway line at Lovm I slowed lown to round the corner, 'Oiimling the horn meanwhile. I saw a .Maori standing in the •ciitre of the road. Jle appear"d to have his back to me and lid not see me coming. When 1 sounded the horn he went, to•varos the Post Office. I was »a the proper side of the road the left side, and fearing >vhat might happen I swerved off and put the brake on. The man lvad his head down, and kept on his way, and 1 called out to him "look out." Tie lid not heed the warning and ■'an into (he back pari of the 'ai'. I he car was stopped immediately. I sawjhe man fall upon his back. '1 he injury to the head, f. believe, occurred when tlie man s head struck (he ground. The ear. did not touch his head. The abrasion upon his arm. as stated by the doctor, might be accounted for by his being sfrucK with the car. f assisted to get the man taken into the h:i!:,vrd saloon. After the accident 1 could smell drink him. lie rushed blindly into the car. There was no other traffic in the street to confuse liini. Had he .stood still I would not have gone within a dozen yards of him. There were three other persons with me in the car when the accident occurred. f have been driving a ear lor fifteen months and never had an accident or been summonsed for fast driving. 1 was on my proper side, was travelling at a reasonable pace and do not, feel in any way responsible for the accident.

The coroner relumed a verdicf that deceased met his dentil accidon(ally by falling upon Hie road and I'raefuring his skuJl after being si ruck by a motor ear, and that no blame attaches to the driver of tlio ear.