MOTOR ACCIDENT

Opotiki News, Volume II, Issue 140, 1 February 1939, Page 2

MOTOR ACCIDENT

MAN SERIOUSLY INJURED CAPSIZE OF TRICK. A single man, diaries Stanley Smith. aged So. was admitted l to the Opotiki hospital yesterday suifering from a fractured pelvis ami severe internal injuries. The injured man. who conies from ivaukapakapa, was recently employed hy -Mr. A. I'.'. Reece, contractor, as a truck driver. On Tuesday morning he was carting a load of metal across a paddock at -Mr. -Morrison’s farm, Tablelands, T.IIO driver was endeavouring to negotiate a sharp bend l when the truck commenced to slide and turned over. The driver attempted to open the cab door to, jump clear but was caught and crushed by the vehicle. Several men lifted part of the truck up and the injured man was released and conveyed to hospital. His condition is still fairly serious.

There were several bruises on all the bodies and each of the yietims appeared to. have received severe head injuries. The road where the accident took place was 17 fee't wide with a slight upward grade.- He examined the tracks of the car before it went over. They were clearly distinguishable on the road. They could- lie clearly discerned for 60' feet before the car went over the cliff. The marks got nearer and nearer to the edge till the right hand wheels finally went over at a place where the outside of the road was broken away. The car did not go over there however. .The driver of the car succeeded in getting the car, on the road after that and it went, along right oil the edge of the cliff for 14i yards before it finally went over. Owing to the damage clone to the car it was impossible to determine the condition of the brakes of the car prior to the accident. In his evidence Dr. Mail said that death in each case was due to a fracture of the skull and laceration of the brain.

In his evidence, the driver of the car, Edward Henry Hitchener, PAYD. employee, said' he left camp with the three deceased at 5.30 n.m. Witness was driving Hughes’ car, the latter having poor eyesight. Hughesand Noirdeii and witness were in the front seat and Ashley was in the dickey seat. He was travelling at 25 miles an hour when the car started to shimmy and pull to the right. Hei tried to pull to his left and thought that he would get the car. back. The car ran. along the edge of the cliff some dis-

tance then toppled over. He only remembered rolling over once. He next, remembered' lying alongside the car some hundreds of feet below the roadThe car was completely wrecked ami there was no one in it. When lie came round a bit he heard Charles Norden calling out and he made his wav up the cliff to get to him. When he got some distance up lie found Tommy Hughes among the fern. Hughes was mumbling to himself hut he thought Hughes was conscious. Continuing up the hill some distance he found Charles Norden. He was lying with his head downhill and l there was a. log over his feet. He. was conscious and he said, “Can you get me out of this”. He eased the log on his legs and Norden said. “That’s better” - He told Norden to hang on till lie went and got assistance. He then saw Ashley lying on one side among the fern. He did not go to him. He was just lying in fern and not calling out so witness made his way to the top of the cliff. When lie got to the top he walked downhill a short distance and met a lorry driver named. Dodds. He told him wliat had happened and Airs. Dodds, who was with, her husband in the lorry, went back to Bill Nelson’s camp for assistance.. He returned to the scene «f the accident with Dodds. He remembered!: trying to go down the cliff with Dodds, but didn’t remember anything alter that till he woke up in hospital. His. injuries consisted of broken ribs, a. fractured left wrist and right ankle, also severe bruising to the face and. body. He could not account lor the car going over the cliffs hut after thinking, the matter over he was of the opinion that what caused the ear to pull to the right at that point was that perhaps one of the right hand, tyres got punctured and' suddenly deflated, thus causing the car to pull, over to. the right. He did liort hear air escaping from the tyre and did not. notice the ear wandering about the road before the accident. Everything, happened very suddenly. He was not. blinded by the sun shining in his face, as far as he could remember. He had. a current driver’s license. The owner of the. car had a certificate of fitness, for the car which witness was driving at the time.