CAR FATALITY.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 January 1921, Page 7

CAR FATALITY.

DEATH OF MISS COATES, EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST, The inquest concerning the death of Ruby M. Coates, the young woman who died from injuries received in a motor accident in New Plymouth on New Year’s Eve, was resumed at New Plymouth yesterday. It will be recalled that Mias Coates was the occupant of a side-car attached, to a motor-cycle, and the machine came into collision with a motor-car. The rider of the. cycle (Rupert Grey) escaped serious injury, but Miss Coates died the following day as the result of the iujuries. Mr. T. Furlong, J.P. (acting coroner), presided at yesterday’s inquiry, and the jury was as follows: T. W. Rolston' (foreman), T. Young, M. P. Julian, J. West, P. J. O’Brien, and F. Lonsdale. Mr. F. E. Wilson watched proceedings on behalf of the driver of the motor-ear (John Barras), and Mr. H. R. Billing appeared on behalf of the rider of the cycle, Rupert Grey, and his brother, Francis, who was on the rear of the cycle. Evidence was given by Dr. Wade, who attended deceased after the accident. He stated that jahe appeared to be suffering from a fracture of the skull, extending across the base. He did not think then that she had any hope of recovery, and she died in the hospital the following morning. Rupert Grey was partially dazed with shock, and after Miss Coates had been attended to he collapsed, and was sent to the hospital.

MOTOR DRIVER’S EVIDENCE. Th? driver of the motor-car, John Barras, engineer, in the employ of Newton King, Ltd., said that on the day of the accident he drove home in a car, which had been wrought in for his supervision. Later he returned to the garage and stayed there till 9.30 p.m. About 10.30 p.m. he was driving car along - Egmont Street and turned into Gill Street to go to the garage. When he was about six yards from the second bend in the road he saw a light on the right hand side of the road coming in the opposite direction. Owing to the angle of the road the oncoming light was not shining in front of his car. He suduenly saw something right in front of the car and swerved to the right, thinking to miss the light, but a collision occurred, and subsequent, events showed that the car wheel had missed the cycle, but struck in between it and the side-car. This threw the cycle around. He applied the brakes then, stopping in about the length of the car.

Witness . explained his action in swerving to the right by stating that owing to the angle of the road he could not turn in any other direction. When he got out of the car he saw Miso Coates lying on the ground about ten feet behind the point where he had stopped. He estimated the speed of the car at about 15 miles per hour, and with regard to the cycle, he found, from measurements. that it had travelled 32 yards to his 12 yards, from the time he saw the light before the accident. Cqncerning the position of the car on the road, he said it was in the centre of the well-defined vehicular track which is noticeable on Gill Street. He did not think he was wrong in turning to the right. He was successful in missing the object, which he had tried to avoid by so turning. He was on the wrqjng side of the road when he saw the cycle and would have got on to the correct side, but the cycle was on him very suddenly. To Mr. Billing: The brakes were in splendid order. The damage sustained by the car was the bending of the front axle and the left hand side mudguard was lifted up. When he saw the light of the cycle he would be more to the right hand side of the road than to the left. They were then about 38 yards apart. When he saw the light he assumed it was from a motor-cycle. Grey was coming across from the right hand side to the left hand side of the road, and witness could not turn on to the correct side, as that would have put the car right in front of the cycle. To Mr. Wilson: He chose Gill Street because there were less people there. He had never had an accident before. Lawrence M. Monteath, accountant, who was a passenger in the car driven by Barras, said he did not notice a side-chair with the cycle. He estimated the speed of the cycle at from 24 to 30 miles per hour. He did not know of any dry tracks which showed that the car had run right into the cycle. To Mr. Billing: When he first saw the light it looked as if an accident must happen. He spoke to Barras, who put the wheel over to the right.

THE CYCLIST’S STORY. Rupert Grey, farmer, of Omata, said he left home on the day of the accident with a motor cycle and side-car. Miss Coates joined him at her home, and came to New Plymouth. She was in the side-car, and witness’s younger brother was riding on the back of the cycle. About 10.10 p.m. he got the cycle from the garage, where he had left it. There were two lights on the bicycle—a gas .lamp and an electric light, both large ones. There was no light on the side-car, and none was needed, as the gas lamp showed it up. Starting off, they went down Liardet Street into Gill Street. He was on his proper side of the street all the time, and also turned the corner on the lefthand side. When near Currie Street intersection he saw the light from the car, which was near Brougham Street. The speed seemed to be beyond the limit, and the driver did not seem to have control. The pace was over thirty miles per hour. Witness did all he could, turning the machine to the aide and throwing the engine out of gear. The side car wheel KvouldJ be about six feet away from the edge of the water channel. When the collision occurred the cycle was going very slowly. The driver of the car did not appear to be watching where he was going. He never seemed to slacken, hitting the wheel of the cycle and going on. Witness did not see the car after that. He” was pulled off the cycle, and thought the footboard of the car had passed over him. When he got up he heard his brother calling, and proceeded to pull him out from the cycle and side-car. The engine of the cycle was still running, and witness stopped it. He went to the side-car and found that Miss Coates was not there. He saw. her ly J ing on the road about five yards away. He went over to her, being the first on the scene. The two men from the car then appeared, and seemed to be. too dumb-founded to speak. To the coroner: He did not find th( lights of the car dazzling, but thej Crowed up everything.

Francis V. Grey, aged 12, brother of the' previous witness, said that as the result of the collision he was thrown over the back of the cycle, and was afterwards lifted up by his brother, who shut off the engine. • THE VERDICT. The Coroner reviewed the evidence generally, and remarked that the peculiar contour of the road may have helped to bring about the accident. He also pointed out that the street, which w’as originally constructed to '<divert some of' the heavy traffic from Devon Street, had developed from a byroad into a busy thoroughfare. The points for the jury to keep in mind were: (1) Was the accident and subsequent events due to misadventure?; (2) whether the mishap was due to an error of judgment on the part of either or both parties; (3) whether it was due to any culpable negligence by either of the parties. The jury, after half an hour’s retirement, found that the deceased met her death in a collision, between ja car driven by John Barras and a motorcycle and side-car driven by Rupert Grey, the collision being due to John Barras being on his wrong side of the road. The jury added a rider expressing the opinion that the accident was largely due to the dangerous nature of the street.