THE MOTOR-COACH FATALITY

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 205, 8 December 1910, Page 7

THE MOTOR-COACH FATALITY

THE ADJOURNED INQUEST. The adjourned inquest concerning the death of Albert Stinson in the recent accident to the New Plymouth-Opunake motor coach was resumed yesterday morning before the Deputy-Coroner, Dr. M'Cleland. The inquest had been adjourned to allow of the attendance of the principal witness, George Stinson, the deceased's brother, who has been ill in the hospital. Detective Boddam conducted the inquiry. Mr. Johnstone watched the proceedings on behalf of the Phoenix Assurance Company, the holders of the general insurance of the Co-operative Transport and Agency Company.

The jury empanelled was as follow: H. J. Gilbert (foreman), E. Dingle, S. J. Jackson, A. H. Ambury, E. F. Clarke, and A. Veale.

Hugh Baily, secretary to the Transport Company, recalled, stated that deceased was engaged by cable from England, and arrived here about December 28, 1900. . Deceased was recommended by the new Arrol-Johnstone Car Company, Ltd., the builders of the char-a-banc. Deceased was driving on the day of the accident. (Witness here xead deceased's credentials from the ArrolJohnston Company, which described him as e very careful and conscientious mechanic and reliable driver, and a thoroughly competent and valuable servant.) Continuing . his evidence, witness said •that deceased acted up to those credentials. He was a thoroughly competent and very reliable driver, sober, steady, and trustworthy. On the day of the accident, witness accompanied the experts, one of whom was Mr. Waring Sax-ton, to the scene of the occurrence. Mr. Saxton examined the car as it stood.

George Sanson, who appeared with his ] right arm in a sling, was accommodated with a seat, and gave his evidence with great emotion. He deposed that deceased was his brother. On November 16, the day of the accident, deceased picked witness up near the Timaru factory, about a mile or a mile and a half from the scene of the accident. Witness sat alongside his brother, who was driving the car in the direction of New Plymouth.* Witness was a motor driver himself. Immediately before the accident the car was travelling at a rate of between ten and twelve miles, an hour. The road was very rough, causingthe car to jump.. Just before the car went off she gave a jump and went over the bank on the left-hand side, without any warning at all. It was all over in a second. Deceased said nothing as the car went over. He tried to pull his steering wheel to the right, but it was too late. Before the accident the car appeared to be steering all right. Witness lhad no idea at all as to how the accident happened. The car simply jumped out of the middle of the road. and it was over in an instant.

To the Coroner: He could not say exactly how far it was from the place where the car jumped to where it went over the bank, but he should say it was about fifteen feet.

Waring Saxton, motor-car expert, residing in New Plymouth, stated that he accompanied Mr. Hugh Baily to the scene of the accident on November 16, and examined the char-a-banc ear. As far as he could see there was nothing wrong with the mechanism of the car. The hood and the steering-wheel were the only things damaged, but that in no way affected the driving of the car. He understood that the break to the steering-wheel was not caused by the car going over the bank,, but was done by the men who got deceased out of the swamp. The car could be steered' just as well afterwards as before. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the actual steering-gear. He could find nothing in the other mechanism of the car to account for the accident, and he could not suggest iiow the accident happened.

To the Coroner: He made a second thorough examination of the car after it was taken out of the swamp, and then could find nothing to account for the accident. He #nly had a supposition that deceased was taken ill sudden-

To the jury: The road was straight where the car went over. The car could not have run over without the steering-gear being moved. The car had - worked since the accident, when she was being brought in. When the traction engine that was towing it stopped to get coal, someone put the car in gear, and when the traction engine started again it started the engine of the car, which .ran on by itself for a little way.

Dr. G. Home said that he accompanied Mr. Baily to the scene of the accident just after it had occurred, He saw the body of the deceased, first in a cart, and afterwards at the Oakura Hotel. Witness made a careful external examination of the body, the face and chest of which were very vivid. The chest bore signs of severe compression. He found no broken hones, and concluded that the immediate cause of death was suffocation, caused by the pressure of the machine on the man's body.

To the Coroner; He had travelled over the road pretty frequently. At the part where the accident happened the surface was very crumbly, but there were not many loose stones about. The road was generally very bad for motor vehicles. This concluded the evidence offered. In addressing the jury, the Coroner pointed out that the jurymen had heard the evidence concerning this extraordinary accident, and it was for them to come to a conclusion. The evidence showed that the car was being driven slowly by an expert, and that it was behaving well before the accident. It jumped almost immediately off the road into a swamp. An expert had advanced a supposition that the deceased might have been taken ill suddenly, but against this he would point out that deceased had said nothing to his brother. A man taken'ill suddenly, or experiencing a sharp spasm, would naturally be expected to make an exclamation, to turn and say something. But deceased had said nothing. The jury also had the doctor's evidence that death was due to suffocation, and evidence as to the condition of the road. After a retirement of eight minutes, the jury returned with a brief verdict that deceased met his death through suffocation caused by the pressure of the overturned car on his body.