THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT. The Inquest.

Waikato Times, Volume XIV, Issue 1229, 15 May 1880, Page 2

THE LATE FATAL ACCIDENT. The Inquest.

An enquiry into "the circumstances surrounding the death of Edward Pakenham Walsh, who met with a fatal accident on the railway line between Huntley and Taupiri on Tuesday last, was held at James' Railway Hotel, Frankton, on Thursday, before J3. C. Boile Esq. Coroner, and the following Jury :—: — Thomas Jolly, (foreman), John Knox, Patrick Quinn, James Harkcr, E. Hedgcock, D. Ooombes, G. Manners, P. McPherson, Richard Land, F. J. Yon Stunner, Henry Webber, and Louis James. Serg-ant McGovern conducted the enquiry, and the Jury having been duly sworn, they proceeded to view the body. The first withess called was Patrick Cox, who deposed that he was employed as a guard on the New Zealand Railways, and was in charge of the night train on the 1 lth from Auckland to Waikato. The deceased went to him at MerI cer, and asked if be could get into the van. Witness told him not to do «o, and then went forward as far as the coal stage to start the train. After doing so, he returned to the van and found deceased there who told him that he wanted to smoke, and as there was no smoking carriage attached to the train, and ladies being in both compai"tnients of the only remaining carriage, witness did not like to remove the deceased, but he had intended to do so at Huntley. At that station however, he had a lot of work- to do, shunting &c., and as Walsh was, very quiet, sitting down in the van, ha quite forgot him. On leaving Huutlcy, he went through the carriage, towards the van to collect tickets, after which he discovered that his light was out. He went to replenish the lamp, and asked deceased to oblige him by handing the lamp up, and he acquiesced. He cautioned deceased not to go out too far. Wituess then Avent out of the van, to get on the roof of the carriage, and while in tli3 act, he heard a smash. He looked down, and missed tiie deceased. He then tried to draw the drivers' attention by signalling with the brake, but failed until they were approaching Taupiri on the train stopping there he proceeded to the tho engine, saw the driver, and told him what had happened. They both thought it best to detain the train at Taupiri, and to go back and look for the deceased. Witness then went back some distance to the house of Ganger Timmins. A man named Patrick Smith accompanied him, and with Timmms they went with a trolly towards Huntley. They travelled over two miles, and found deceased lying flat on his back, a little distance from the line, on some fern. The only words he heard deceased utter weee "Come on," when they were some distance from him. Witness had a lamp, by the aid of which he could see that one of deceased's legs was broken and the other badly bruised. They put him into the trolly as gently as possible and took him on to Taupiri, when they transferred him to the van and conveyed him to Hamilton in the train. On arrival at Hamilton witness assisted to carry deceased upstairs in the Railway Hotel. Between Taupiri and Ngaruawahia deceased asked for a drink of Avater, which he procured for him at the latter place. He did not see him alive after assisting to take him into the hotel. Between Ngaruawahia and Hamilton deceased bled a little, and appeared to be shivering. Witness put his coat over him. By Sergeant McGovern : Previous to to this I knsw deceased by sight. He was employed on the branch line Deceased was quite sober when he got in at Mercer. When we fouud deceased I did not notice if he was bleeding much. At Taupiri Station, with the assistance of Driver Cook, and at the request of the deceased, witness tied up the limb with a handkerchief just above the knee-cap. It is not customary for passengers to ride in the guard's van, except when there is no smoking carriage. By the Foreman : The only niaans of communicating with the driver is the brake signal. It would be about an hour and a half from the time of the accident till they brought deceased to Taupiri. I thought from deceased having worked on the branch line that he was competent to do what I aske.l him. No nutter how rough it is, there is no otliar way of fixing the carriage lamps than by getting on the roof. Sergt. McGovern said he had proposed introducing the evidence of Dr. Carey at this stage, as he was the fkot medical man who attended the diseased. Dr. Carey was however very unwell and could not attend. He would therefore cilled Dr. Sandes. The Coroner said that as very important issues might turn on this point, it might perhaps be advisable to adjourn the inquiry until Dr. Care\^ could attend. The jury, (through the foreman) expressed the opinion that the evideuce of Dr. Sandes could at any rate be taken an I the other matter could be considered at a later stage of the proceedings. Walter Hussey Fitton Sandes deposed that he was a duly qualified medi-vxl practitioner, residing in Hamil ton. On Wednesday morning he was brought from Ohaupo by Mr Knox, a< riving a*, the Railway Hotel about 8 o'clock. He saw deceased aud found him in a &Lxte of collapse caused by injuries to his le^s. He undid sufficient of the bandages to see the extent of the injury, and found laceration of the muscles in the right leg just above the knee. The bones were fractured. He did not examine tho kft leg, because from what he saw oi the right led him to the conclusion that the only chauce of life which remained was by amputation, which he would have performed had -not the patient died from excessive liemoivhxge. He saw deceased about 12 hours after the accident. Another medical man hid seen him before he arrived and applied spliuti, &c, which witness saw. Death resulted from the shock to the system and the excessive hemorrhage. By the Foreman : There was no blood coming from the deceased's wounds when I «aw him, but I think he had lost a large quantity. Had any one been near deceased at the time of the accident to stop the bleeding he might have been able to undergo an amputation. Dr Cai - ey's bandages stopped the hemorrhage. I think Dr Carey did everything that he could to alleviate the sufferings of the deceastd. There was a small quantity of congealed blood on the sheets under the bandages. There were sheets and a pillow in the room which were saturated with blood. These had been on the bed when deceased was brought in. I saw a tournequet on the right side. George Callwell, stationmaster at Hamilton, deposed the deceased was his nephew. On Tuesday last the deceased went down to Mercer by the midday train. He was in good health and spirits The train was late arriving in Hamilton that night. On its arrival the guard told him there had been an accident, and by the light of the lamp he saw his nephew on the floor of the van. Deceased, whose face was very pale, said, "George, I'm done for." He made the best arrangements he could to get him out of the train, which was done. Deceased died about 14 hours after witness first saw him. He was Avith him the greater part of the night. He sent a message into Hamilton for a doctor, and ultimately went towards town himself when he m3t Mr R. F. Sxndes and returned with him. He was told that Mr Kuox had kindly gone for Dr Carey,

By this time it was past midnight Dr Carey arrived about half-past one. The doctor examined the injuries, and attended to thorn with a view, as witness was afterwards informed, to sending the deceased to the Auckland Hospital. The wounds must have been bleeding, though no flow of blood was observable. The tou racquet was put on immediately. There was a large quantity of blood in the van where the deceased lay. He did not think any sheets had been removed, but they might have been. He considered that the groat flow of blood occurcd while the tornequet was being applied. There was no telegraph in operation at the station, the nearest being at Hamilton. Witness cliil not think deceased could have recovered oven had a medical man been in waiting at the Hamilton staiion when he I arrived. By Sergeant MoGovern : Deceased had spoken to me during the night, and told me that he was s >lcly and wholly to blame. And expressed the gieatest concorn lest anyone should be held culpable for consequences which were brought about solely by himself. H» sdd he got into the van against tho wish of the guard who could not well tuin him out after Ihe train wai in motion, which was the case both at Mercer and Huntl^y. To the Foreman : Deceased was 2 1 years of age and was recently married. This was all the evidence brought forward. The Coroner asked the jury to decide ■on the points which he had wised. Did they think it neessary to have the evidence of Dr. Cu'ey. The Foreman thought, that sufficient evidence had been adduced to enable them to oome to a decision. Sergeant McGovern said Mr R F. Sandes who was really the fir«t person to attend to the deoeasxl was present, and if tho jury wished he would call him. The jury thought it veiy desirable to have the evidence. 11. F. S.inde-, .sworn, siid he was a chemist and druiryist-, envying on business at Hamilton. Heliea'dof the accident on Tuesd ty niylit, and <*3 there was no doctor in Hamilton at the time ho went down to the station, sending a message to Dr. Carey by Mr Knox, to &ay that he Avould bring bandages, &c. He found the deceased in a very low state from homorrhige, though the bleeding had apparently ceased. Ho cut away a portion of the trousers on the right leg, and readjusted a ligature which had been placed outside the trousers before his arrival. He gave deceased an ammonia stimulant which he thought was requir d. By Sergenfc McGovern : I assisted Dr. Carey to bandage the legs. He considered that everything was done which was possible under the cireumstxnees. Ho thought it would be a good thing to have a railway telegraph as had there heh c en a medical ma l in attendance when the train arnwd the result might have been different. Tnis was all the evidence. Tlie Coroner said he thought fiom the testimony before thcxn they would find no difficulty in arriving at a verdict of accidental death. They should also, if they saw fit add % rider suggesting the moans necessary to be adopted to prevent as far as possible the recurrence of similar accidents. Tlie Foreman said it appeared to him th.'t had the tram been provided with efficient signalling apparatus I he deceased's life would in all probability have been saved as he could have been attended to much sooner. Tlie Jury tlvm re.ired, and after an absence of about a quarter of an hour returned with the fo 1 lowing verdict: — "That the sail Elwird Pickenham Walsh met his death through injuries received in accidentally f tiling out of the night train on the Auckland and Ohaupo Railway on ths 11th day of May, ISBU, between Huutley and Taupiri. '' The following rider Avas attached :—: — " And the .said Jurois are of opinion that no blame attaches to any one for the accident in itself, but recommend that mo>p direct, communication between the guard and driver of the passenger trains on th<? said railway bo provided, and that the several stations be connected with cadi othec by telegraph. "

The Funeral. The remains of the deceased were interred in the Hunilton cemetery yesterday afternoon, the funeral being conducted by the members of tiie lojol Orange Lodge, of which deceased was a prominent nit-mber. The Lodge wasopened at 1 o'clock at the Victoria Hall, where the body was lying. The procession wa^> formed at 3 o'clock and proceeded to the cemetery, at the gate of which it was mat by the Rev. William Calder (the incumbent of St. Peter's), who said the prayers for the dead according to tin solemn ritual of the Church of England. The body having been committed to the earth by the Church, Bio. Kuox (Deputy Grand Master), and the Hey. Mr Jo les (Chaplain of the Lodge), read tic Orange service. The funeral was largely attended, about 25 mumbeio of the Order joming in the procession, and about 50 others were present, the peculiarly sad ciroii instances surrounding the occmrence L'udnig a more tlnn usual degree of lnlcie&t to the event.