INQUEST

Hutt News, Volume 2, Issue 50, 22 May 1930, Page 10

INQUEST

LOWER HUTT RESIDENT KTLT.TCD

COLLISION BETWEEN MOTOR-VAN

AND MOTOR CAR,

NO NEGLIGENCE ON PART OF

DRIVER OF CAR.

An inquest into the circumstances of the death of Thomas Crook, was held before the Coroner, Mr W. H. Woodward; S.M., at Lower Hutt, on Saturday afternoon last, May, 10. " .

■Mr W. B. Rainey appeared for the relatives, including Claude Victor Crook, the driver of the van, and Mr J. S. Reid appeared for James P. Laurie, the driver of the motor car.

Claude Victor Crook said lie was in partnerslxip with his late father, and at 12.45 p.m. on tlie 9tk iiist. He was driving his motor delivery van. along Trafalgar Street at a speed which he estimated at IS miles per hour. His father was sitting alongside him. Near the corner made by the intersection. with Collingwood Street he slowed down to 12 or 14 v miles per hour to turn to his right into Collingtvood Street, andi when neai'ly into Collingwood Street he noticed a ear approaching. He thought he had plenty of time to turn into the street. When past the centre of Collingwood Street this car swerved to the rights and the front of it struck the van in the centre of the running board and the van capsized. He did not remember much more beyond helping to lift the van off the deceased who was pinned underneath it, nor did he remember sounding his horn or hearing the other sound. He could not say if deceased tried to jump off the van. He followed the usual line of traffic, round' tho corner. They were practically Tound the corner and the weight of the van was on the outside wheels. The centre of-the road is not used at all. If it had been a head-on collision the damage would not have been great.

To Mr Reid: He did not apply his brakes as he thought he had plenty offtime to get roundl. He did not see the «aT till it was right on him. The growthat the corner across which he had to see was rather high. ■

To Mr Rainey: He had driven a van for seven years and his business regularly took him over the streets in question. He slackened speed on coming to the corner, but he was not going fast enough to necessitate the application of the brakes. He estimated his speed at the corner at 12 miles per hour and considered he had ample time to pass ahead of the other car if it had- continued on its correct side of the road. The skid marks of the car were 67 feet up to the point of impact. It was the skid mark. of the-Tight hand side wheel, and it "seemed as if only one brake was holding.

To Mr Reid: The ear was approaching on his rig-ht^ Had", he applied his brakes. -.vlien. he saw Laurie he would have «t.;pj?u right across" his course but if Laurie ruaa swung to the right it would Lave brought Laurie in front of him. The impact was just beyond the crown of Collingwood street.

To Mr Rainey: He considered he was on the middle of. Collingwood street before the car swerved to the right. .

EVIDENCE OF CAR DRIVER,

i James Park Laurie said he was an en- ! gineer at Petone Service Station and lived at Petone. At 12.45 p.m. on the i 9th inst. he was allying a -car along Collingwood Street-toward the intersection with Trafalgar Street. He estimated his speed at 25 miles per hour. On nearing the intersection he applied the brakes and reduced speed. When 20ft from the corner he noticed the van coining out of Trafalgar Street on Ms left and it was commencing to turn to its right toward him. It looked to be. cutting the corner. It was going at about 15 miles per hour; He thought there wouldi be\a head-on collision and swerved to his right and applied the brakes hard. The van straightened up and went across the street. He then, tried to turn back to his left but struck the van on thft running boar' 3 and capsized it. He did not at first notice two people in the van as he was watching the driver. After the aecioiient he found deceased under the van and lie was -badly knocked about on the head and seemed to be dead. 'Death seemed to have been instantaneous. He did not sound his horn or hear the other horn. His speed when he struck the van wouldi be down to 7 miles per hour. If the impact had been head-on there would have been little dam age. The damage to his car was confined to mudguard and radiator, the chassis not being damaged. He had driven for fifteen years and had never been in a smash, before or had a conviction. He thought that if Mr Crook had continued 'hugging' the corner his swerve to the right would have avoided strik- i ing the van-.

To Mr Rainey: His car is five years' old and has only two-wheel brakes. He could not say exactly how long it was since they were tested, but it was less than a year ago. He considered .the brakes were in good order because in braking they track right. The van appeared to be very close to the curb and he assumed that it was going to continue to cut the corner and enter Collingwood Street on its wrong side. It was coefinitely coming into Collingwood JStreet on. its right hand side. He was there when the constable took the measurements andi agreed 67ft was the length of the skid. He did not agree that only, the ■right hand skid mark showed on the road. He was applying brakes before the sMci marks started. It was not exactly a skid mark though it was" a definite mark. The curve of his swerve would i-ho'.v where he was when he saw the van. The impact may have been a shade over the crown of the road. He' did not apply the handbrake, as he was too busy with the wheel. He did not examine the marks on the road for evidence of any attempt to. turn to the left at the last moment thought he noticed the right' hand' running board of the van was torn off and said that a speed of seven miles^ per hour on his part would do this.

To Mr Reid: He started from Malonc Eoad on the other side of Waiwetu Eoad and crossed Waiwetu Boao< at about 8 miles per hour on account of bus traffic,

and he had travelled that course seven or eight times last week. He made a habit of slowing down for intersections. He had not seen .the van when he began to slow down. The vacant section at the corner is covered with grass and gorse. Had'he not maoie his last turn to the left the full front of Ms car would have struck the'van. Actually.it was the right hand front corner of his cai;. which struck. There was no sign of impact on the left hand'side of the car. . "When .< he first saw the - van he jammed .i on the -brake's hard and swung to the right and then eased the brakes; then, when tke van straightened out he tried to turn to the left andi again jammed on the brakes. When he first saw the van a swerve to the right seemed the only means of averting a collision for he Could not have swung on to the" right footpath because of a telegraph post. The angle would have been too." acute to mount the section on his left. The weight of the van would be on the left wheels when he struck it, and the force' of the impact was in the same direction. He thought they would collide head-on.* if he continued on his left side of the road. » ' To Coroner: He took the only course lie could see to avoiu the aecident.;sHad he braked hard from-the time lie saw the van and without turning to the right he would not have avoided a collision. WHAT A WITNESS SAW. Leonard Henry George., Englan&i stated that he was a painter employed by'C. Pord at Lower Hutt, and resided in Mills Road. On Friday afternoon last he was engaged painting a house at. the comer of Trafalgar and Collingwood Streets. - He saw the bread delivery van coming along Trafalgar Street. and a motor car. coming along Collingwood Street. Both vehicles were travelling at easy rates. As they approached the corner he thought there would be a coßit sion. The car was on its correct side and the van was on its wrong side.. The van sounded its horn, but the car did not. He thought that when the van was on the corner the driver of the van fisrt saw the approach of the eaT because he swerved to his left and cut across in front of the car. At the same time the driver of the car swerved to his right. The car struck the van about the centre - of the van and capsized it. Just before the impact the deceased appeared, to jump from the van. When*.he pulled him - from under the van he haGi^a loaf of bread in his hand and he thought that Crook was killed instantly as the. van fell on him. There was no room between it and the curb. If deceased had gained the curb he would have been safe. The car at the time of impact had v slack- . ened.spee&i to a walking pace.'. He was about-20 to 30 feet from the accident. When the driver of the car swerved to the right he heard the brakes applied Before that he did not hear the brakes.\ To Mr Rainey: The van followed the ordinary track round the corner and he I had seen other vehicles &io the same. He | should say the distance between the vehicles -would not be more than 17 or 18ft • when the car "came in sight of the driver of the van. If tfie driver, of the car had continued on his left hand side there would still have been an accident. There would have been more chance of the car missing the van if the car haoi continued on its proper course. He noticed an attempt by the driver of the car to turn to the left .at the last moment and lie was positive it was the, van that sounded the horn. The van was half way over the intersection before the car swerved to its right. CONSTABLE'S iSTATEMENT Constable R. Griffith said that at 1 p.m. on Friday last he was called to an accident. Dr Barron was there andi had • examined deceased and reported he Vras dead. Witness took measurements of skid marks pointed out by Mr Laurie as those of his car. There were no skid marks of the van. The length of the skids marks of the car were1 67 feet. They were on the correct side of the street till they/* swerved to the right on approaching the point' of impact. He saw both drivers and they were sober. The" regulation would require the van to give way to the ear.

To Mr Reid: He saw the tracks of- the van round the corner and he followed

them from the van to the corner. The driver of the van agreed that the tyre track of his left hand wheel was 6ft 7in from the corner. The distance from the point of impact to the curb was 15ft. from the car's correct side and lift 3in from the other side^. The point of impact was 43ft. from the alignment of the curb of Trafalgar Street.

To Mr Rainey: He saw the skid.marks of both wheels of the car. The marks

were pronounced from where the turn, to the right began. A little under half of the mark would be included in the swerve, about 28ft.

To Sergeant:. If anyone was teally

looking across the intersection he could see into Cdllingwood' Street from 100 yds along Trafalgar Street. ..,'.■

To Mr Rainey :Tftere is a growth of rank grass and- gorse which, would be about four feet above the footpath.

To Coroner: -The height of the van is ' greater than that of B an ordinary car.

CORONER JS FINDING.

The Coroner's finding was "that deceased died at Lower Hutt on May 9th, 1930, as the result of a collision between a motor bread delivery van in which he was being driven by his son Claude Victor Crook, and a motor car driven by James Park Laurie. The evidence shows no negligence on the .part-of'-the■'driver of the ear.?'