A CRY IN THE DARK

New Zealand Times, Volume XLVI, Issue 10613, 11 June 1920, Page 5

A CRY IN THE DARK

THE PENROSE FATALITY HOW JAMES MALLIN MET HIS DEATH. TUB TRESS ASSOCIATION. AUCKLAND, June 10. Tho inquest respecting tho death of a ship’s steward named James Mallin, aged 23, who fell from a moving train at Penrose on Monday evening and subsequently died in the hospital, was held before Mr Wilson, S.M., to-day. Evidence was given that two Pen, rose residents were a Demoted by a cry near the railway line after 8 o’clock on -Monday evening and tumid tho two men, Mallin and Murdock McLeod, lying injured beside the line, Mallin being unconscious. Both were scut to the hospital, where Mallin died next morning. McLeod had a head wound and aii arm wound, but was not seriously hurt. McLeod in his evidence, skated that he and .Mallin were both ships’ stewards, and lived at the same place at Onelumga. They had been in town together on Monday and left for Onehunga shortly after 6 o’clock. They changed trains at Penrose and went inside the carriage, but went out- on tho carriage platform just after the train started. Witness said he was standing outside th© door and lus friend Mallin was leaning with his hack to the, platform rail singing and beating 'time with his hands. Witness then had a faint recollection of falling off tho platform through the platform gate. It was dark ait the time, he said, and he did not notice whether or not the gate was open when they went out on the platform. When he came to he called out, Is answer to the coroner McLeod said that Mallin did no(t have any drink in his company, but between 5.15 and G p.m. ho was in the AVavcrley Hotel with someone else. When the witness rejoined Mallin just after 6 p.m. Mallin appeared to him to be quite sober. Witness’could not give any reason for going out of tho carriage to stand on the platform, and could not say how either he or Mallin fell off the platform. He thought it must have been caused by a lurch of the train. The (coroner found that Malliu's death was caused by falling from a moving train at Penrose, and that there was po evidence to show how he came to fall from the train.