MAORI FATALITIES.

Taranaki Daily News, 7 May 1917, Page 8

MAORI FATALITIES.

I.— Iggll mmit BOY SHOT AT CORBETT ROAD. j A sad fatality occurred at Corbet!I Road 011 Saturday morning at about 0 o'clock, when a Maori boy named Cieorgo Rangi,aged 0 or 7 years, whose parents reside at Awaliuri, near I'eilding, a;cidentally shot liimself. It appears thai: the Maoris, who were attending to their farm work, heard a loud report, and on ,running back to the holts.? found that the boy hud- shot himself with a doublebarrelled gun, with which lie had evidently been playing. : Death occurred noon after. An inquest was opened before Mr. A. Crooke, S.M. (coroner), at noon on Saturday. Formal evidence of identification was given by Tanmati Te Whanga«ui, favnier, of Corbett Road, and grandfather of deceased, .after which the inquost was adjourned until Thursday. FATALITY NEAR GOT.F LIXKS. On Thursday afternoon the adjourned inquest was held by Mr. A. Crooke. S.M.. coroner, concerning the death of Whio Eei, the Maori boy, aged 12 years, who was killed by being' thrown out of a dray near the Waiwakaiho golf linkq. the previous Saturday morning. Tapuke Niu Tirene, stepfather of deceased, gave evidence that he was driving into town with deceased, and when opposite tho golf links the winkers came off the horse, a heavy one, which sliicd and ran one wheel of the drav up the bank, causing the dray to capsize. He called out to the boy Jo jump, but it was too late. When witness got up lie saw deceased lying on the road a'bout 3 feet from the dray, his head covered with blood. Witness picked him up and concluded thai; lie was dead. The bridle, which had no throat strap, had come olt previously, but. the horse had taken no notice. Krnest Albert Grigg, head stockman at the Smart Road freezing works, said that the top rail on the oft side of 'the dray struck the boy while lie was lying on the ground. Witness believed that death was instantaneous. The horse was going at a slow trot before the accident, which was so sudden that there was no possibility of avoiding it. Driving without a throat strap was a most dangerous practice, and should be discouraged. Dr. W. R. Wade gave evidence as to the injuries, which included a deep contusion across the nape of the neck, and a fvaiture dislocation of tho top of the spine, which would cause instantaneous death. ■ The coroner returned a verdict of .accidental death, in accordance with the evidonce.