HIKURANGI TRAGEDY

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 988, 3 June 1930, Page 11

HIKURANGI TRAGEDY

EVIDENCE AT INQUEST BUS DRIVER TO STAND TRIAL From Our Own Correspondent WHANGAREI, Monday, i The adjourned inquest concerning j the death of six people, who were I killed at the Hikurangi railway crossing on April 5, was continued late this afternoon before the coroner, Mr. G. N. Morris, S.M. Noel Wilkinson, the driver of the bus which was wrecked by the train, was charged with driving a bus in a negligent manner so as to cause the death of six people. Mr. R. A. Singer, of Auckland, appeared for Wilkinson. Mr. R. K. Trimmer appeared for Miss Trotter, one of the injurd people; Mr. P. J. O’Regan for the Hikurangi Miners’ Union, and Mr. Aitken for the Railways Department. Senior-Sergeant O’Grady represented the police. Bruce Litchfield, a motor mechanic j for the Northern Bus Company, said I the bus that collided had its breaks j tightened the day prior to the accident. ! After the accident he examined the i breaks and gear lever. He found the j brakes off, and the gear control badly | bent, and in neutral. .... j The bus was hit immediately behind | the front wheel. PASSENGER’S STORY

Miss Eileen Trotter, 46 Surrey Street, Ponsonby, who had to be seated to give her evidence, not having sufficiently recovered from her injuries, said the bus left Hikurangi at 6.20 p.m. to go to the pictures at Whangarei. Noel Wilkinson was driving. It was raining and the glass was wet. No one sat with the driver. Trevor Doel and another boy sat behind the driver and Miss Wilson and witness sat behind them. The remainder of the passengers were all more toward the front of the bus than the rear. The night was so dark that she could see nothing through the window of the bus. She saw no train lights nor heard any whistle or anything to make her think that a train was approaching until almost on the crossing, when the trail) ran into the bus. “BLACK OBJECT” She saw nothing until a black object , with a light right above her, loomed up. She believed she was the first to see the train and called “Noel” just as the bus was struck. She had the recollection of being hurled through ! the air. No one was speaking to the driver at any part of the journey. Arthur J. Wilkinson, a brother of the driver of the bus and foreman for the Northern Bus Company, said that j Noel Wilkinson, his brother, never j took alcoholic liquor. Charles Frederick Storey, a guard on the train, said it left Whangarei station at 5.18 p.m. It stopped at Mairtown and left at 5.57, being 15 minutes late. The train was lighted at Mairtown. He lit two carriages himself and instructed two assistants to light the other five. He heard the whistle and then the train came suddenly to a standsttil. The van %vas practically on the crossing. He saw the damaged bus and someone came staggering toward him. He now knew the man to be tbe bus drivel’. He found tbe head light of the engine burning brightly. TRAIN GIVES WARNING Arthur Henry* Manning, of Opua, the driver of the train, said that when approaching the crossing he saw two lights coming from Hikurangi direction. He gave a long blast on the whistle, but the bus made no attempt to stop. It was travelling at 35 to 40 miles an hour. Tile train was travelling at 25 to 30 miles an hour. He applied the emergency brake when he saw the bus was going to cross in front of the train. The front of the engine struck the middle of the bus. The headlight on the engine was still burning brightly after the accident. Douglas Edward Scott, fireman, said he lit the headlight at Mairtown. The carriages were also lit. The driver sounded a long blast on the whistle as the train neared the crossing. He considered the light, could easily be seen for a mile.. Tbe bus was carried ever the cattle-stop and thrown over a bank. Both lie and the driver returned to the wreckage and assisted in tending the dead and injured. It was not raining, and it did not rain till they arrived at Hikurangi. CARRIAGES LIT BRILLIANTLY William McKeown, farmer, Riponui, said he was driving home in his car with his wife and three other passengers on the night of the accident. He saw the train approaching toward the crossing. He was about half a mile from the train and could see the headlight, and all the carriages were lit brilliantly. He thought he heard the whistle, then he saw the train sationary. He did not see the lights of the bus. The bus driver said he did not see the light of the train or hear the whistle. To Mr. Singer: It was a dirty night and drizzling rain was falling. To Mr. O’Regan: As he came to the crossing he could not see the lights of the train through his windscreen, and he had put his head outside. Herbert Montague Herdson, a passenger by the train fx-om Whangarei, said he heard the whistle blow. Peter Jack, a railway surfaceman, residing in a railway cottage seven chains from McLeod’s Crossing, said he was in the cottage at about 6.40 p.m. He heard the rumbling noise on the bridge and then heard the whistle immediately the train passed, over the bridge. CORONER’S VERDICT The coroner’s verdict was that the I six persons died as a result of a collision between a bus driven by Noel Wilkinson, in which they were passengers, and a railway train travelling north from Whangarei. Mr. Morris said he was satisfied that there was a prima facie case of negligence against Wilkinson, but it was impossible to get the full facts without j hearing Wilkinson’s explanation. Mr. Morris entirely exonerated the I railway officials from any blame what- j soever. There was clear evidence as to the lights in the train and the blowing of the ■whistle. There had been some conflicting evidence as to whether the crossing was dangerous or not. Since the tragedy be had passed the crossing fairly frequently and had spent some time examining the locality, and in his opinion that crossing was, comparatively speaking, a safe one, although there was no doubt all crossings were, dangerous. The people who assisted after the collision did excellent work in getting the injured to medical attention so expeditiously. Sparkes to some ex- j tent owed liis life to this. Dr Good- I wiu, at Hikurangi, and Dr. Hall and j

his staff at the Whangarei Hospital, were also to be commended for the excellent work done by them. When charged, Wilkinson pleaded not guilty, reserved his defence and was committed to the Supreme Court for trial, bail being fixed in one surety of £IOO.