COLLEGE HILL FATALITY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 949, 16 April 1930, Page 18

COLLEGE HILL FATALITY

MAN KILLED BY TRAMCAR NO BLAME FOR MOTORMAN “Witnesses say that Mr. Gannon was of an excitable nature, and that he was liable to giddy turns. In view of this evidence, I would not be justified in giving another verdict. No blame can be attached to the tramwayman.” With these comments, the coroner, Mr. F. K. Hunt, S.M., brought in a verdict of death from injuries received through being knocked down by a tramcar, in an inquest concerning the death of Thomas Gannon, aged 50, of Rero Street, Point Chevalier, held at the Magistrate’s Court yesterday. The driver of the tramcar, Alfred Norman Strange, stated that he was driving the tram toward the city down College Hill on Saturday, March 29, when he saw a man walking along the left-hand footpath, about 30 yards ahead of him, going slowly. He waved one hand, and walked toward the tram, as though he wished to board it, although the stop was about 90 yards lower down the hill. Witness applied the brakes, but the man stepped suddenly across the lines. It was impossible to avoid a collision. The man did not appear to be drunk. Thelma Kruger told how she had seen Gannon walking past her house. He appeared to be giddy, and was loosening his collar and clothing. It was growing dark, but visibility was still good. Ensign Thorn, of the Salvation Army, described how Gannon had been very agitated the previous day, and almost in a state of collapse.