FATAL ACCIDENT.

Marlborough Daily Times, Volume II, Issue 159, 28 September 1880, Page 3

FATAL ACCIDENT.

A very sad accident by which a fine little hoy about four years of age, the son of Mr Sinclair, of the' Natoinal Bank, lost his life, occurred on Saturday afternoon last. The event cast quite a gloom over the neighborhood, and great sympathy is felt for the parents who have been here only a short time and are not intending to make a long stay here. The little fellow was playing with other children in ashed near Air Millington’s house where the Public Works Department have had stored for some time past four gates, such as are used at railway crossings. These gates were placed in an upright position with three pieces of planking nailed to them to keep them in position, but a 3 it appears, were not sufficient to make them secure as they wave way by the weight of the hoy climbfnc'on them, and falling upon him crushed his head to pieces and scattered his brains on the floor. Medical aid was promptly at hand but of course was unavailing. The same evening a Coroner's inquest was held before Samuel Johnson, Esq., at which no medical testimony was adduced, but the following evidence was taken. Had the inquest been delayed a little longer we understand that further evidence would have been procurable to show that other and older boys had been previously hunting rabbits in tin's shed and had loosened the fastening of the gates. The first witness called was Mr Sinclair, the father of the deceased child, who deposed :—I am an accountant in the National Bauk, Blenheim. I have been residing here a fortnight. The deceased is my sou.

He was 3 years and 9 months of age. I j last saw him alive at half-past one o'clock j to-day. He was then playing about with a ; son of Mr Millington’s. ! Herbert Millington stated : —I am 12 years old. lam a son of MrT. VV, Millington. I have known deceased for about a week ; his parents lodge in my father’s house. At about three o'clock this afternoon, the deceased and his brother, Lawrence Sinclair, my sister Jessie, and myself went into a shed on the North side of the house to play. One side of the shed is open. Inside were four large gates belonging to the railway. They stood upright a little apart from one another, and were kept in that position by means of a piece of hoard nailed across the tops and to the avail. The deceased was climbing on the bars of the outside gate, and I and his brother asked him to conic down. I did so because I thought the gates might come down on him. I did not see the gates shaking. I thought lie might tumble off. lie began to come down and I went forward to take him off lest lie might fall. I then saw the two outermost gates fall. No one touched them excepting the deceased. There was a heavy gust of wind just then. I have never climbed (on the gates nor shaken them to see if they were firm. When they fell Norman was holding on to one of them, and they fell upon him. lat once ran away to tell his sister, Kate, and then went and fetched Mr Ryan, at Mr Fell’s store. Mr Ryan came hack with me and lifted the gates off the deceased. It was from three to five minutes after the accident that lie did so. Deceased did not cry out. Mr Morrison also came to the scene of the accident.

Cornelius Ryan,:—l am storeman in the employ of Messrs Fell and Co. This afternoon,'Herbert Millington came to me at the storeroom and fetched me to the shed North of Mr Millington’s hoarding house. Several persons were there when I arrived. Two large gates were lying on the ground and two, I think, were standing up. Beneath two gates which overlapped one another I saw the body of the deceased. The whole of the body was under the gate. I should think the gates weighed about five hundred weight each, if not more. The child did not cry out. It is my opinion that lie was dead. The lloor of the shed is of earth. Janies Leslie Clialmhcrs, Inspector of works for the Government, at Blenheim, stated: There were four large gates belonging to the railway in the shed ; they were each about 12 feet by 4 feet G inches and weighed between four and five hundred weight. They were stored in the shed, after having been painted. They stood upright about IS inches apart, and were maintained in that position by three planks, two being nailed across them and the other to the wall. The planks were nailed to each gate by one nail. They were so secure that the painters worked among them, and I have climbed upon them to reach to the loft just above. I suppose that the nails had been shaken loose, and also think that the gusts of wind blowing directly upon them, would tend to make them fall. Deceased was found under the gate furthermost from the part that was nailed. I have seen children playing about the gates, and some time ago 1 saw some children climbing on them, and I took occasion to caution them not to do so, as it might be dangerous. The hoards were an inch thick, and were nailed with 3-inch nails to the stud.

The jury returned a verdict that the deceased was accidentally killed by the falling of two railway gates on which lie was climbing.