SHOCKING STREET ACCIDENT
GIRL CYCLIST KILLED
PINNED BENEATH TRAM CAR
A shocking accident, resulting in the death of a young King Edward Technical College girl student, occurred at 2 o’clock yesterday afternoon in the centre of the city. The victim was:-
Daphne Monica Munro, aged 16, daughter of Mr Sinclair MacKay Munro, of 30 Chambers street, Northeast Valley.
Miss Munro, who was a popular pupil in her third year at the college, had left her home, presumably to attend the sports meeting which was being held at the Oval, and was cycling through Customhouse Square, when, by some means not yet ascertainable, she came into collision with a tram car which was also travelling in a southerly direction.
The girl was unseated from the bicycle, and was first caught under the lifeguard of the tram, and then became pinned beneath the body of the car. Efforts were made by a number of the horrified bystanders to lift the car in order to extricate the unfortunate girl, but this was found to be beyond their powers, and the task could not be performed until a jack had been obtained from the car sheds. Miss Munro was then rushed to hospital, but on arrival there she was found to be dead.
Inquiries were being made to-day by the police with a view to ascertaining the circumstances leading to the accident, but no further details were available when we went to press.
An inquest was opened before Mr A E. Dobbie. S.M., acting as coroner, last evening, and after evidence of identification had been given by the father of the girl, the coroner ordered a post mortem examination to be made, and adjourned the inquest sine die. -Evening Star, 14/8/1946.
DEATHS
MUNRO. — On August 13, 1946 (result of an accident), at Dunedin, Daphne Monica, dearly beloved youngest daughter of Sinclair and the late Catherine Munro, 30 Chambers street, North-east Valley; aged 16 years. Deeply mourned. — Private cremation from our Chapel, 326 George street, To-morrow (Thursday), the, 15th inst., at the conclusion of a Service, commencing at 10.45 a.m. — R. McLean and Son, funeral directors. -Evening Star, 14/8/1946.
SCHOOLGIRL’S DEATH
RUN OVER BY TRAM EVIDENCE AT INQUEST
“The City Council may consider the question of having jacks placed on trams. We are living in a mechanical age and there is always the possibility of an accident.” This statement was made by. Mr A. E. Dobbie, S.M., in giving his verdict in the inquest on the 16-year-old schoolgirl. Daphne Monica Munro, who was killed at the Stock Exchange on August 13 last by a tramcar. Evidence was given by several witnesses that a jack had to be sent from the tram sheds in order to extricate the girl’s body from under the car. Mr C. J. L. White appeared for the relatives of the deceased, and Mr J. C. Robertson for the City Corporation. The inquiry was conducted by Sergeant J. Devlin.
Dr E. F. D'Ath, pathologist, gave evidence that the cause of death was asphyxia, the result of compression of the air passages and chest which had interfered with the process of breathing.
Herbert Taylor Starkey, of the Public Works Department, gave evidence of brake tests carried out on the car involved in the accident.
To Mr White, witness said he had not examined the lifeguard of the car.
Eye-witness’s Account
Robert McKenzie, journalist, said that at about 3 p.m. on the day of the accident he was standing at the intersection of Princes and Rattray streets. His attention was attracted to a girl cyclist. She was in Princes street about opposite the south side of Rattray street. She was in the act of making a half-right turn on her bicycle when he first saw her. At that time a south-bound tramcar was crossing over Rattray street. The tram was travelling at a slow speed and so was the cyclist. The front of the tram was about level with the girl cyclist when witness first saw her. The girl completed her turn and rode alongside the car and later dropped back. Witness then noticed a north-bound car and he could see the gap closing between the two cars. The girl cyclist was then riding on the right hand side of the south-bound car. He saw the girl accelerate and pass in front of the south car in order to get away from the one which was approaching from the opposite direction. He saw the girl turn her bicycle to the left in front of the tramcar and then the front wheel of her machine appeared to slide on the tram rail. The girl immediately disappeared under the front of the tramcar.
Ralph McDonald, a tram conductor, said that at approximately 2.58 p.m. on August 13, he was crossing over Princes street from Jacobs’s corner when he saw a girl cyclist with her left foot on the ground. She appeared to be making an effort to stop her machine. The cyclist was on the right of a south-bound car and witness, realising her danger, called out to her. The car struck the machine and the girl was rolled over. Witness said the car was travelling at a slow speed at the time of the accident.
To Mr White, witness expressed the opinion that if a jack had been available the girl could have been released at once. It had been necessary to send to the tramsheds for one. He understood that jacks were kept at various places in and around the city. He had seen jacks carried on Auckland trams.
To Mr Robertson, witness said that when a jack arrived the girl was lifted out in a few seconds. The bicycle was on top of the deceased. Kingsley Alexander Blackwood Howie, a civil servant, also gave evidence of the accident. Witness did not apportion any blame for the accident to the driver of the tramcar.
Dr H. R. Bennett said that he could not feel the girl’s pulse beating when he arrived shortly after the accident took place.
To Mr White, witness said he had tried to get the girl out from underneath the tramcar. If a jack had been available she would have been removed almost instantly.
To Mr Robertson: The bicycle was jammed on top of the girl.
Donald Cameron Duff, who was the conductor on the car involved in the accident, said it was travelling at about 10 miles an hour and stopped within about five feet after the brake had been applied. He was collecting fares at the time and did not see the accident.
Motorman’s Evidence
George William Hunt Duncan, the motorman in charge of the car, said he was about 15 yards from the south side of Rattray street when he first saw a girl cycling on the right. She appeared to be between two sets of rails. Witness sounded the gong and then saw that the deceased had fallen under the car. It appeared to witness that she either got on to a loose part of the surface of the street or that something had thrown her off her balance. There was no other vehicle In the vicinity. He estimated the speed at between 10 and 12 miles an hour.
To Mr White: At no time did he see the girl ahead of the tram. Jacks were not carried on cars in Dunedin, and he did not know whether they were carried on cars in other centres or not. There was, he understood, a jack at the Gardens, but he had not seen it. He had not received any information concerning where they were to be found. Witness noticed an inspector at the scene of the accident. He had stopped two motorists for jacks.
To Mr Robertson: He would not expect to see traffic on his right-hand side. In his opinion had it not been for the fact that the bicycle was jammed an top of the girl she would have been brought out without any difficulty. "It was an extraordinary accident,” witness added, “as both the machine and the cyclist were under the tram. It was the bicycle that jammed her in.” Witness explained that he had never been called upon to use a jack at any time previously.
The coroner, in finding that death was due to asphyxia, expressed sympathy with the relatives of the deceased. -Evening Star, 24/9/1946.
Daphne Munro's ashes were scattered at a place known to family.
No comments:
Post a Comment