WOMAN AND CHILD KILLED

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 431, 13 August 1928, Page 16

WOMAN AND CHILD KILLED

TWO OTHERS BADLY HURT (From Our Own Correspondent.) MAT AM AT A, Saturday. A motor-car driven by Mr. A. Randrup, farmer, Hinuera, collided with a special train to Rotorua at mid-day on the southern crossing near the railway station, Matamata, killing a Maori woman and her baby boy, and seriously injuring two other occupants of the car. Mrs. Deason Kati, aged 20, of Waharoa, and her baby boy, aged 10 months, were killed outright. Mr. Andrew Randrup, aged 46, farmer, Hinuera, owner and driver of the car, received a severe scalp wound, and the fourth person in the vehicle, Mrs. Ruru Kati. aged 28, sustained a fracture of the right thigh. A special train carrying a picnic party from Auckland had reached the level crossing about 150 yards south of Matamata station, when the motorcar, with the two women and the child as passengers ran into it. The impact was a severe one—the train was travelling at full speed—and the car was smashed to pieces. When the train was stopped Mrs. Deason Kati was found dead on the cowcatcher of the engine, and the others had been thrown clear of the line. Doctors were hurriedly summoned and the dead and injured people were taken to the Matamata Hospital. This is said to be the first serious accident that has occurred at this crossing. It is not equipped with a bell, but is considered a good crossing from the point of view of the motorist, being on the level and allowing a clear vision of the track on either side from the road. The train did not stop at Matamata station, but the whistle was blown twice before reaching the crossing.