SHOCKING SMASH.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIV, Issue 191, 10 February 1912, Page 6

SHOCKING SMASH.

i —- — : I ON RAILWAY. . TRAIN CRASHES INTO MOTOR. OCCUPANTS KILLED. Christchurch, February 7. A shocking accident occurred at the Styx railway crossing'shortly after noon to-day, when the north train from Christchurch ran into and smashed an Overland motor car, and killed its two occupants—Marshall Brown, of. 17 Kipling street, Addington, in .the employ of the New Zealand Farmers' G/)-operative Association; and Peter Fransden, of 1,1 Angus street, Christchurch, formerly in the employment of the Dresden Piano J Company. I At the time of the accident the car I was proceeding, to town, and just prior ' to the smash it .was seen to be travelling at a' fast' pace: The crossing is a dangerous one, approaching trains being i obscured, whilst the easterly wind which was blowing would prevent the engine's whistle being heard by the occupants of the car. The result was that the engine caught the car fairly in the middle and carried it along for 25 yards. PETROL TANK EXPLODES. When first struck there was still a slight chance for the occupants, but a. points lever was encountered, and the car must have been pinned between this and the engine. The petrol tank immediately exploded, and nothing but a few fragments of the car remained to tell ■ the tale. Fransden must have been killed instani taneously, but Brown breathed for a few , minutes after, though he did not again recover consciousness. Brown's injuries • consisted of a fracture at the base of ■ the skull and a compound fracture of i the right leg. Fransden's head was also i injured, and his right foot cut off. L (Brown was a married man about 28 : years of age. Fransden, who was also ■ married, was older than Brown. He held ■ a position as outside salesman to the -1 New Zealand Farmers' Co-operative As- ' sociation, and is stated to have been - an expert driver. It is considered in ■ certain quarters that, taking all the I into consideration, and 1 judging by the position of the bodies, 3 that it was not Brown who was driving, i but Fransden. Fransden was considering I the purchase of a car, and it is thought - very likely that this was the reason of his being with Brown. Immediately after the accident the train pulled up in its own length. An examination of the front of the engine reveals absolutely no damage. It is stated that there have been several minor accidents at the Styx railway crossing, and many narrow escapes of more serious accidents. Approaching trains are practically obscured from sight by anyone on the road by the high, thick hedges which run along both sides of the line. Portions of the car were carried as far as the Styx railway station, fully fifty yards away, and generally the remains of the car were scattered in all directions. The bodies of the two victims were left on the railway track until a conveyance arrived to take them into town. ENGINE DRIVER'S ACCOUNT.

R. Pringle, who was driver on the train, stated to a reporter that he was driving the train leaving Christchurch at noon for RangiorU. When at the crossing, about a hundvec yards from the town side of the Styx railway station, he heard his fireman, Albert Skerton, cry out, "Look out!" and at once applied the brakes. As he did so he saw a motor car dash on to the front of the cow-catcher, and it was at once smashed to pieces. The car was going south. The train, consisting of three carriages and a van, was pulled up in its own length. He alighted from the engine, and went back. He found the body of one man lying alongside the line. He had been carried about forty yards beyond the crossing. The other man was lying on the other side of the line, tweny yards nearer tho crossing. He died about Rve minutes afterwards. Of the motor car there remained nothing except fragments. In fact, there was not enough of it left for those on the train to tell what make it was, or even yhat color it had been.