SHOCKING MOTOR FATALITY

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10494, 4 December 1911, Page 5

SHOCKING MOTOR FATALITY

ON THE OPAKI ROAD.

MR JOHN COTTER KILLED,

A shocking motor fatality occurred on the Opaki road, beyond the Ruamaihanga bridge, shortly before 2 o'clock on Saturday afternoon last. Mr John Gc-tter, a well-known aid higHy-esteemed settler of Greytown, had been on a visit to the MauawaMi district. While there, he purchased a "Siddefey" motor-car from a La.merston firm. He left rainier won North on Saturday..morning at ten o'clock, in. company wiltdi Jlxlward. Badtog, a chafaeur of! tJhlat. town. Mi- Cotter was at the wheel, and the car was driven smoothly and' .wattisuvii; mishap until within a few miles oi Masterton. When ascending the hdill about half a mile beyond cue Ruamahanga river, tihe car, wincli was running in the third gear, en to - ed the water table at tihe turn in tlie road. Mo- Cotter appears to have turned the car sheer aca-oss the road, and, the back wheel* skidding, me rnacUe went over the, embankm ; • it. U would seem that Barlmgather iumped or was thrown clear. lh«^ M cS on top of Mr Cotter, and then Xd down an embankment about 00 feet in depth, crashed over a \v..e fence and pulled up standing m a ari'lv stunned by ho® fall, but on ie turninc to consciousness. *aw -ui oSSSW atou- three fee, oft_ tte road, in an unconscious condition. A pa&seriby telephoned for a doctor, but the victim of the accident i"ed lalmost immediately. Dr Aronor Hoisting, who arrived' on the spot about tlia-ee-qaiarters of an hour ;.lte rthe accident, found the body of Mr Cotter to be lifeless. An examination reveafcd the fact that the nocK j was broken, there was a severe gash iro tho forehea d, thie face was badly I out, and the body bruised all o/er. Barling escaped with the dislocation of three fingers of the right hand, a severe bruise on the, right Lip, and a general shaking. He expects ..to be about again in a. day or two. Tike top and front portion of the motor car were considerably damped. The late Mir John-Cotter, who was 61 years of age, was born in th.eHu.tt VaiMey, wilier© he lived for some li.-ne prior to coming to Uaeytown with his parents. He afterwards- became possessed of property in the Wangamu, Rangitikei, and Manaivatu districts. Some years ago he sold out his estate at "Siberia," .near AsMmirst, to Vr Harding, since when he has resided' ait his homestead near Greytown. The, deceased' was- married to a daughter of the late Mr Stonestead Jackson, and he leaves a widow and one daughter (Mrs White, of Porangahiau). The late Mr Cotter was one of tii© befit known setters in the lower poison of tlie North- Island. He wa.» a keen sport, a jovial companion and a fine fellow all round. The news of his untimely death will be received with keen regret by a wade circle of friends, , Tjhe...ftni€ral, will?, take plaice at Gireytown to-miorrow (Tuesdiay). THE INQUEST. ■Jan inquest into the oircramstances attending the death of Mr Cobber was held in the Oourtihouse yesterday afternoon, before Mr Eli Smitlh, J.P., AdMig-Cororier, and a jury of wSrioh Mr A. J. Parton was foreman.

Pierce Cotter, farmer, of Opabi, IdteJitdfied the, body as . that of his uncle, John Cotter, farmer, of Greytown. The deceased was about 61 years of age. He hadl had a motor ear for seven or eight years. ' He had been in tlhe habit of driving a big car, and should be a praoticalL driver. He had'never heard, of'the' deceased meeting with an accident beifore. He had been in the habit of driving through to Napier. Witness had not known him to be in other than good heaOith. James 1 Groson, commercial traveller, deposed) that.he was a practical motor driver. ' He wag' driving to Mjasterton from Eketahuna on Saturday. When about MaurieeviHie, a motor car. containing two mien, passed him. It went slowly through a •flock of sheep, and afterwards proceeded at a pace of about forty miles an hour. Some time afterwards he came across the body of Mi*, Cotter, which was' lying dead on the road. On one piece of road, near the railway crossing, witness V saw .where the car had pone on the grass, which led witness 10 conclude that it had been traveling very fast. After seeing the body on the road, witness drove, his companion (Mr Herbert) to a house near by, and a telephone nueisa-sige was sent for a doctor. Witnessl was. tiravteMSm-g at a rate of ten or twelve miles an hour. George James Barker, sawmdMer, .residing;at Masterton, deposed that' shortly before "two o'clock on Saturday afternoon he was driving to town with Mr Ropp. A motor car containing two men. passed him ' at: Marsh's, abioiut' a mile from Day's ' Hill,' and hfciltf a' mile from where the accident occurred. The car was trarelfling very fast. A few minutes later witness saw a man waving for them to come on. This was near Mr Scorrar's house. When they got to the scene of the accident, the man who had been waving asked for some waiter. ' Mr • Rlopp ■ went up the hiiil'l and got gome. Witness saw the deceased lying on the road.. He feut his pulse, and it gave a sight flutter. Witness afterwards undid hag vest, and found that hi® heart had stopped. Witness saw marks of the car having driven into the watertable bv the hill. It had gone straight* across the road, struck on the opposite side, and apparently swerved' round and, fell overlie embankment back first. The car was at the bottom, over the fence, and facing the road. It would be nearly a chain- from the road. The car was being driven by deceased when it passed witness's:. Witnes was the tirst on the scene after the accident. Br Archer Hoskiiiiig, medacafl. practitioner, af Masterton-, deposed that about 2.15 on Saturday afternoon he received a telephone message from the Opaki that there had been an accident. He immediately informed the police, and proceeded, to ttoa scene He found a dead body lying on the side of the road on the north side of the second Hffl beyond the JUiamnhanga bridge. He ed the body as that of John Cotter of Greytown, whom he knew. The h«ad- was very much crushed, and cut nhmit the face and foreHead, andtto neck was broken. Death had been almost instantaneous. He examined the vnthiitv of the accident, ,- and

from' tlila tracks, which, were plain in the dust, it could be seen that the car had gone into the water table at a spot where the hillside projects. In shewing, off, the outer wheels' of -the car liad gone over the bank at the other side of the road, the back wheals had skidded', and the car toppled over down the embankment. 'ilnje car mtust have fallen on top of deceased and have gone down the bank. The road was dangerous at the spot where the accident occurred, owing to the sharp corner. The deceased must have travelled) pretty flust when the accident occurred 1 . Constable Brown deposed th'at, in response to a telephone message from Dv Hosking, lie proceeded.. to the Opaki about 25.15 p.m. On Saturday, in company with the doctor, hie' found the body of deceased lying oh • the roadside, as described by the, doctor. He had it removed to Masterton. In the pockets of deceased was found the receipt fbr the purchase of a new motor car from a firm at Pal'merston. North. Witness! agreed with Dir Hosking as to tlie prohabifo cause of the accident.

Edward Burling, cliaffeur, residing at a-oflimierstjon jNortn, deposed that he saw dlecleased.' in Paltme/rston on Friday morning. Deceased had purchased- a motor car from the firm of Mason, BaiDilie and Co. The car was a 12—16 "Sid'deley." Witness, understood that deceased was not used to .this las scof car. Witness* arranged on' Saturday morning to come through to Masterton, with deceased. They left Palmerston about ten o'clock in the morning. The deceased drove the whofc way. The car was a new one, but deceased had driven it two or tiliree times previously into the country from Pal-mea-stoln,. Witness remarked to deceased when, coaming over a railliway crossiing near where the acciden/t occurred that he was turning too fast, and was severe on the back tyres. The, deceased replied), "I own the car and pay for the tyres." This wasl all he said. Witness' remembered the car going over the gutter on the hilUside, but. remembered nothing further until he was recovering consciousness. He then, saw deceased lying about three feet off the road, and the car int the guMy. Two men in a trap come along sooiii after witness escaped with a dislocation of 'three fingers' of nns right hand, and a severe bruise on his hip. With th& exception of a stop of a few minutes at Wbodlvile, they were travelling constantly until the accident, occurred. Witness did.' not think they ■were travelling at.an excesswe speed! wt any part of the journey. Witness could, not account for the accidenit in any way. He did not consider ss& road ait the scene of the accident was ttkngerous. The ear could not be travelling very fast when- it reached the spot where the accident ocourrted. The car would only be travelling at the rate of ten or fifteen milea i on hour, when line accident occurred. She was traveling on thie third gear. Deceased, must have lost his 'head. They had no mishap from the time they left Palmerston, tali the acXfldent oocivrred.

'lttie jury returned a verdict that the deceased came by his. death by tmasadivenfcure, and that w> biDame -was attachable to anybody. A rider was* added drawing the attention of the County Council; to the dangerous conddition of tmi& ; road at the locality ait which; the accident occurred.