Six Men Hurt and Motor-Car Wrecked

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 37, 6 May 1927, Page 1

Six Men Hurt and Motor-Car Wrecked

MAORI’S CONDITION GRAVE CAR RUNS OVER BANK (Special to THE SUN.) NAPIER, To-day. An accident resulting in six men being hurt, one seriously, and a motor-car being destroyed, occurred on the Wairoa-Napier Road about ten miles from Wairoa at five o’clock last evening. A seven-seater car driven by Paul Lemuel, a well-known driver of Wairoa, containing five Maoris, was proceeding to Napier for the Maori Land Court sittings. Rain was falling and there was heavy fog on the hills. Negotiating a stiff climb, the car was approached by a lorry coining in the opposite direction. Mr. Lemuel drew to the side of the road to allow it to pass. He evidently misjudged the distance, with the result that the car slipped off the road, capsized, and rolled into a ditch 35 feet below. Three of the men managed to get out and assist the others. The remarkable feature of the accident was that only one man, a Maori known as Rapita, aged 60, was seriously hurt, the rest escaping with minor cuts and bruises. Rapita was injured internally. He was picked up by a service car from Gisborne, and taken to his home. A doctor was summoned from Wairoa, and it is ascertained that the injured man’s condition is grave. The car was a total wreck.