OKOROIRE COLLISISH

Putaruru Press, Volume VII, Issue 285, 24 April 1929, Page 5

OKOROIRE COLLISISH

INTERESTING CASS.

Long and Patient Hearing,

An exceptionally patient hearing by the magistrate, and a prolonged fight by the defending counsel, were the main features in an interesting motor collision case heard hy Mr. S. L. Paterson, S.M., in the Matamata Court on Friday.

The ease was one in which Harr:/ Goodwin (Mr. Hutchison) claimed £45 from J. A. McCook (Mr. Buchanan) for damages. Defendant counter-claimed for, the sum of £ls 2s. The court was crowded, and a large number of local farmers were involved as witnesses.

Harry Goodwin, farmer, Okoroire, the plaintiff, stated that he left Mr. Dee’s farm about 10.30 p.m. on the night in question, with his two sisters in his car. Immediately on coming out of the gate he saw McCook’s lights and pulled in to the left at 10 miles an hour. He had not changed into top gear. After the collision his car was well off the metal on the left side of the road. There was room for two cars to pass on the metal and a further broad track on McCook’s side. The cars hit one another head on.

Cross-examined by Mr. Buchanan, witness stated he was 24 years of age. His eyesight was iood, though he wore glasses, which he had left off that day. Put through a test, witness came out with flying colours.

Illustrating the collision with two blocks of wood, defendant’s solicitor elicited th e information that the lamage done to the runningboard of McCook’s car was done after the first impact through McCook accelerating. Mr. Buchanan : I suggest to you that after running along on the left for safety you suddenly saw the letter boxes and pulled out to avoid them and that was how the accident happened. Witness : No.

Isa Goodwin, sister to plaintiff, corroborated the evidence of her brother. She was flung out of the car by the impact on to the grass bank. The car stopped before reaching the letter boxes and was travelling slowly.

Eileen Goodwin, another sister, gave similar evidence and stated that McCook looked as if he was going to turn up Carruth’s road. Witness recalled telling her brother that it looked as if McCook was going to run into them.

Patrick Dee, farmer, Okoroire, said he viewed the cars after the accident. Goodwin’s off wheel was about 18 inches on the metal, and the near back wheel was in the watertable. The letter boxes were close to the road hut not projecting. It was raining pretty hard at the time and the marks were hard to distinguish. Cross-examined, witness said McCook was quite sober but witness could smell liquor on McCook’s passenger. Witness recalled remarking that it looked as if Goodwin had shot up the road to avoid the letter boxes. Witness thought the road had been metalled since the accident but he had been sick and could not say. Captain Newton, farmer. Okoroire. stated that he examined the ground for tracks when he came on the scene but could not swear to any. Goodwin’s car was as far to the left of the road as it was possible to get. For defendant, Mr. Buchanan nointed out the lapse of time before the summons was issued.

The Magistrate : Well, he had six years, had he not? Mr. Buchanan agreed but held that in this case his client had been preiudiced. The road had been metalled since and the centre of the road was not in the same place.

The Magistrate : But the centre of a road is constant no matter where cars go.

Continuing, counsel held that if olaintiff had heeded his sister’s warning and stopped the accident would not have taken place. Again, his eyesight was defective. Mr. Hutchison : I could not read it from here.

The Magistrate : And I could not read it with my glasses on. Mr. Buchanan : Well, I am going to show that my client can read it easily.

A long demonstration followed in which the magistrate disagreed with counsel’s theory as to positions caused by swerves and impacts. ■Tames Alexander McCook said the night was a very bad one and at the time of the impact he was running on the metal, which was 14 feet wide. He was travelling on his correct side of the metal and kept a 1 straight course. Goodwin shot up on

to the metal by the letter boxes. The

I bumper on his car came out past the I wheel and the two wheels could not have interlocked unless Goodwin had . bit him a glancing blow. When the cars struck, witness’ engine stalled, 1 and he carried the weight of the front of Goodwin’s car on his front axle. Both cars then slid back to the gutter. The Magistrate : Against the compression of both engines ? Witness : Well, the impact would cause that. Continuing, witness stated that the following morning he could see the tracks where Goodwin’s car went up the metal and then

was pushed back. Cross-examined, witness said he did not think anyone looked for marks except himself. “ Mr. Hutchison : Well, Captain Newton and Mr. Dee were not looking at the scenery.

Goodwin’s left-hand back wheel was about two feet from the metal, according to the wheel marks. Then the car is only two feet wide. —No, it was on an angle. Diffidence by witness in the speed caused Mr. Hutchison to remark that he “ need not be frightened—l2 miles an hour is the usual limit in motor cases.”

Mr. Hutchison : It is a shame, is it not? You travel on your side of the road ; the other man comes up and hits you:.; you put your car fii the shed and ido not ask:him to pay for it. Jar!

Witness:;, I am good natured (Laughter.)

You, are a wild driver, are you not?—No.

Did a,, man refuse to come back from To . Aroha-with you?—No, he met a lady. .(Laughter.)

This one did not:) ' To the magistrate witness stated that Goodwin’s front wheel was about five feet on the metal after the accident.

The Magistrate : Then that left you nine feet of metal and two thirds of the road.

Thomas Taylor, farmer, Okoroire said it looked as if Goodwin “ shied ” at the mail boxes. If he had stopped he would not have hit McCook. The Magistrate : If McCook were well on his side of the road there would have been no danger in Goodwin coming up? "" Mr. Buchanan : One man used the sand track and the other the metal— The Magistrate : It does not matter whether it is metal or not. Later the magistrate said the onus was not on Goodwin to pull up his car. “On your showing,” he continued, “ if the post boxes were dangerous then he had every right to pull out.” Mr. Hutchison : If the cars met on the middle of the road how did the girl fall out on the bank ? Mr. Buchanan : Did she fall out immediately ? The Magistrate : Well, it would be considerate of her to wait until the car backed. (Daughter.)

Mr. Buchanan : I suggest she half fell out, and then dropped on the bank when the car came to rest. The Magistrate : But when the car came to rest it was not up against the bank.

Mr. Buchanan : There is no rea l bank ; it is only a few inches high and Goodwin’s car could have gone up it.

Mr. Hutchison : Surely my friend is not going to suggest we should have gone off the road altogether?

Mr. Buchanan : Well, if it would save an accident.cl am sure if His Worship savy. the two tracks he would foljow my point of view.

Richard Naismith,: carrier for Messrs. Rose Bros., said the marks of Goodwin’s car showed a sharp turn up on the road! , s ' : W. A. Mcpooka. gngineer’s fitter, of Putaruru, said he was in the car with his brother. There was room for two cars to pass between his brother’s car and the boxes. He had seen counsel trying to explain the collision with the blocks of wood and he thought he could do it better than anyone else. Goodwin’s car came head on and broke the bumper on witness’ brother’s ear, and the wheels of each locked. To separate the cars they had to shift Goodwin’s car round and back, as they could not leave them locked and across the road all night. In summing up, Mr. Paterson said it was impossible to try to reconstruct the accident from the damage done. It was almost incredible how some damage occurred. Neither could any reliance be placed on wheel marks, as rain obliterated them, and they would in any case be quite misleading by the other marks made in separating the cars. He was therefore forced back on the direct evidence of the parties concerned. Plaintiff obviously from excessive caution kept as far to the left as he could. He was in fact more nrudent than the average driver. He saw defendant steering an erratic course I and in this he was corroborated by his two sisters. There was further corroboration by the only reliable

I . piece of circumstantial evidence of | one °f the sisters falling out of the car on to the grass bank.

The defendant said that plaintiff suddenly swerved into him but this appeared extremely unlikely after his previous excessive oaution. Even if plaintiff had been turning up defendant should have left him room by his own position on a l*4-foot width of metal. In his opinion defendant was driving in an erratic manner and struck plaintiff a glancing blow. Mr. Buchanan : Do you find that the other car swerved off the road and hit him ?

The Magistrate : No, I do. not. The plaintiff was only five' feet «on the metal on defendant’s evidence and the force of the impact had swung him round. I find therefore that the collision was solely due to the negligence of defendant.

Judgment for plaintiff for £4O 0s 4d plus £7 10s costs was then entered, defendant being allowed £2 2s costs on counterclaim. Messrs. Dee and Newton did not ask for expenses.