FATAL ACCIDENT AT WHIROKINO.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XLIX, Issue 3855, 9 October 1928, Page 3

FATAL ACCIDENT AT WHIROKINO.

DRAY CAPSIZES AND KILLS DRIVER. A fatal accident occurred on Messrs Ryder and Nicholson’s farm, Foxton Road, Whirokino, on Saturday afternoon, whereby a single man named Thomas Arthur Thorn, aged 74 years, lost his life. Deceased had been a resident of the district for many years and on Saturday he had taken some benzine to a tractor driver, Stanley jDebonnaire, and at 10 o’clock left to return to camp with a load of wood. At half-past four, the latter on his way back to camp found the dray capsized with Thorn dead, pinned under the wood. EVIDENCE AT INQUEST. / . ' : ' An inquest into the circumstances surrounding the death of Thorn was held in the Levin Courthouse yesterday before Mr. T. Brown, Coroner. Evidence of identification was given by Francis Nicholson, one of the partners of Ryder and Nicholson. They had employed deceased for the past 14 years. As far as witness knew he had no relatives. Stanley Pebonnaire, farm labourer, deposed that on Saturday he was engaged ploughing with a tractor on the farm at Whirokino. About 9.30 a.m. deceased brought a drum of kerosene. After he had done this he loaded up some manuka firewood on his dray and left about 10 a.m. with the load for his whare about a mile from where witness was working. Witness knocked off work about 4.20 ji.m. and came out of the paddock for the purpose of returning home. About twenty chains from where he was wofking he found the dray capsized and the horse standing by.' Wlitness ran ' forward thinking something was wrong, and found the deceased lying with a small quantity of the wood on top of him. Witness pulled the wood off him and found that he was dead. The track was rough, but he knew it quite well as he had frequently passed along it. The deceased was riding on the load when he left, and witness could not account for the overturning of the dray. Constable Bagrie gave evidence as to removing the body, which had a slight cut under the left eye and a small bruise on the back. No bones appeared to have been broken The place where the dray capsized was on the side of a sand ridge and in witness’s opinion the road was steep enough to throw the dray over. He had known deceased for the last eighteen years. The Coroner returned a verdict that deceased was accidently killed by the overturning of the dray.