SHOCKING FATALITY.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 37, 3 February 1908, Page 2

SHOCKING FATALITY.

COLLISION AT A KAIL WAV | CHOtiSINCi. U&JS miSON iiILLJiU. l'or l'lCSa ASaUCiatlon. «NCi»oji, ,-.nuunla i y Js ighl. A serious railway accident occurred ill a crossing near Appicoy station at iZ.-jv tu-uay. A nam to M'lsun wao approaching the crushing when Uie A el- | soiwUotueka coacn. driven by Uianes 1 lirieltlands, attempted lo cross in frontThe horses had cleared the rails when the engine cradled into the lore part 01. the coach, which was smashed to pieces. There were three passengers by tne euaeh, aud uue of them, Airs. 'inouiy, wiie of Mr. A. Tilbury, of the Hiut, killed instantly, her body being terribly mangled. Nie evidently was thrown through the side oi' the coach,

and the wheels ol' the cngjne passed over her body, iioth legs were severed from the trunk. Her sister, .Mis* ISusan Walters, wa> thrown clear of the train, and is fullering from shock and bruises, but it i* not anticipated her injuries will prove serious. Miss tfittall, daughter oi' Mr. Alfred Fittal of Uichmond, was seated on the box, and she ;ilso fell dear of the train, but suffered a broken thigh. The driver of the coach, .bricklands, was picked up unconscious frojn the ruins of the vehicle, lie was seriously injured internally, and is in a critical condition. The dead and injured were placed on the train aud brought on to kelson, where the latter were taken to the hospital.

The view both ways at the crossing is not obstructed by trees, and it 19 diflicult to understand why the coachdriver, a careful man who is accustomed to the road, failed to sec the train approaching. The coach is in the habit of crossing the line some time before the train reaches that place, but owing to the Anniversary holiday, the train arrangements to-day were altered, and probably Bricklands was not aware of the change. He is not yet able to give any account of the matter. Mr. and Mrs. Tilbury were on a holiday visit to Nelson, and Mr. Tilbury was following the coach on a bicycle. An inquest on Mrs. Tilbury's body will be opened to-morrow, but will bq adjourned to allow of the evidence of the coachdriver and other passengers being taken when they are fit to ap-j pear. Nelson, Last Night. ■ Those injured in yesterday's coach i accident are making favorable progress, though the condition of the driver, Bricklands, i* still very serious. An inquest was opened this morning on the body of Mrs. Tilbury, and after formal evidence had been taken, was adjourned till the 15th.