FATALITY AT ST. LEONARDS
WOMAN STRUCK BY LORRY.
An accident which resulted in the death of a single woman, Isobel Brown, aged 53 years, occurred at St. Leonards at 1.45 p.m. yesterday. The woman, who was employed as a housekeeper by Mr William Barclay, a retired grocer, of St. Leonards, left home in the rain to walk to the station. As she stepped out on to the Main road, she was struck by a motor lorry, receiving severe head injuries from which she died immediately. A high macrocarpa hedge obscures the view at the corner where the accident took place and makes it difficult for a motorist to see anyone ahead. The deceased had her umbrella up at the time. An inquest will be held at the Morgue at 9.15 this morning. -Otago Daily Times, 23/2/1935.
CROQUET
OTAGO CHAMPIONSHIPS
Favoured with bright sunshine all day good progress was made with the various events in the Otago Croquet Championship on Saturday. The lawns were much improved with Friday's rain, and many good games were witnessed by a large gathering of spectators. Play was continued until 7.30 in the evening, 40 games in all having been played for the day. The flag at Logan Park was flown at half-mast out of respect to the memory of Miss Isobel Brown, a member of the Leith Club, who was killed on Friday in a motor accident at St. Leonards. -Otago Daily Times, 25/2/1935.
STRUCK BY MOTOR LORRY
SINGLE WOMAN’S DEATH.
The inquest on the body of Isobel Brown, a single woman, who died after being struck by a motor lorry at St. Leonards on February 22, was concluded yesterday before the coroner (Mr J. R. Bartholomew, S.M.). Sergeant O’Shea represented the police, and Mr D. A. Solomon appeared for the owner and the driver of the lorry.
Malcolm Cook Wilkinson, a carrier, said that he was proceeding towards Port Chalmers on the date in question, the lorry being driven by Mona Bobsien. When opposite St. Leonards, the deceased ran out of a side street. She had an umbrella up. The driver applied the foot brake, and witness pulled on the hand brake. The driver swerved to the right and pulled up. Witness sent Miss Bobsien to the store to telephone for the doctor, police, and ambulance. The lorry struck the deceased before it stopped, and witness found her lying under the back of the lorry. He had to shift the lorry to remove her. The lorry was pulled up in 30 feet from the time the brakes were first applied. Witness could not say how far away the deceased was when he first saw her, but it was a very short distance. There was no one else about at the time. The deceased was still alive when witness picked her up, but she was unconscious. She appeared to have been struck on the head. Miss Bobsien was in his employ, and she was learning to drive. Witness was sure that he could not have avoided the accident if he himself had been driving. The lorry was travelling at about 20 miles per hour when approaching the intersection. To Mr Solomon, witness said that Miss Bobsien had been driving a little for about three years. On the day of the accident she had the papers to apply for a driver's license. Since then she had actually obtained a license. The driving conditions on the day of the accident were good. There was no reason to believe that Miss Bobsien had lost her head.
Dr Porteous said that he was called to the scene of the accident and found the body of a woman lying on the pavement. The body was taken to the Morgue, where witness made an examination. He found an extensive fracture of the base of the skull. Death would have been almost instantaneous and would have been due to shock and laceration of the brain resulting from the fracture of the skull.
Mona Bobsien, driver of the lorry, gave evidence along the same lines as the first witness, and evidence was also given by Constance Mary Middleton, a schoolgirl; William Hamilton Burnett, railway clerk; William Barclay, employer of the deceased; Constable McQuilty; Traffic-inspector Thurston; William Haslemore, motor mechanic, and H. G. Calvert, motor assessor.
The coroner reviewed the evidence. He said the lorry was unable to pull up and struck the deceased. The corner was a particularly bad one on account of the hgh hedge in Burke street. The weather was bad and the deceased was hurrying for a train. She appeared to have relaxed the caution she should have used. The brakes of the lorry were in good order. He could not say that there was any negligence on the part of the driver. The verdict would be that death was due to injuries received through being knocked down by a motor lorry. -Otago Daily Times, 7/3/1935.
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