A GRUESOME ACCIDENT.

Taihape Daily Times, Issue 219, 27 October 1916, Page 4

A GRUESOME ACCIDENT.

BOY'S HEAD TORN OFF. An inquest into die circumstances surrounding the death of the boy Norman Christian Gartner, who was killed near the Hihitahi Railway Station on Wednesday evening, was held at Hihitahi yesterday by the district Coroner, Mr. J. P. Aldridge.

William Gartner said he was the father of the deceased, who was 11 years of age. Deceased had gone to the station with his older brother to get the paper. They lived about half a mile from the station.

Clive Tweedale, a boy 13 years of age,, said he lived at Lewis’ mill. He went to the station with deceased about 6.55 p.m. After the train arrived they walked on the platform for a while and then Albert Christie crossed over between the trucks and deceased followed. Witness was going to follow, but the train whistled and he did not go. The last he saw of deceased was between the trucks. The train had moved while he was there. About five minutes after the train had gone witness heard he had been killed. (Witness was used to going to the train to get the paper, and had been in the habit of crossing the train and sometimes had crossed between the trucks as Norman did. He would have done so that night had the train not moved. He had never been -warned about it, and had often seen deceased crossing as he had attempted to do that night to get on to the tram line. He did not know that boys had been checked by the railway officials from playingon carriages when going home from school.

Albert Phillip Christie, a boy 12 years of age, corroborated the evidence of the. previous witness. He had asked deceased if he were going to cross over, and he replied that he was going to wait for his brother. Witness then crossed between the trucks and went up the line a little way. After the train had left he returned and saw deceased’s head lying there but not the body. He then told his brother.

Eugene O’Callaghan, railway porter, residing at Hihitahi, said he was not on duty when the train arrived. He was in the office when the boy Tweedale arrived and said that Norman Gartner was killed. He then went with his mate, who was on duty, and saw a head lying on the line. They sent a wire to the Stationmaster at Taihape and the Traffic Manager, Ohakune, and asked Taihape to inform the police. They then searched for the body, and found it lying some 200 yards from where the head was found. They could see from the appearance of the line that something had been dragged between the rails. He had often checked the boys for playing about the station yard, but had never seen them passing through the trucks. If he had he would have reported It. Only the day before he had checked the boy Christie for running after the train as it w r as leaving the platform. William George Hagan, guard, said he was in charge of the train, which arrived at Hihitahi at 7.18 p.m. on the 25th instant. When he gave the signal “right away,” the engine whistled. On arrival at Waiouru he was in formed' that a boy had been killed at Hihitahi. The train was then examined from the engine to the van. Blood was found on the wheel of an empty Li truck, about the fourth waggon from the cars. He had seen boys going through the waggons before, but had always tried to stop them. When he gave the signal “right away,” he saw no sign of the boy. It was very dark at that time.

Edmund Charles Trehey, police sergeant, said he saw the body of vhe boy lying at the good sheds Hihitahi, and had reported to the Coroner.

A verdict to the effect that deceased was killed at Hihitahi station whilst attempting to cross between the trucks (against the Railway Regulations) and that no blame was attachable to the Department or its orficials, was returned.

A rider was added to the effect that a recommendation to the Railway Department to enforce the regulations in respect to crossing the line whilst a train or trains are standing at the station be made.