CORONER’S VERDICT.
SOLDIER’S DEATH IN ACCIDENT.
OVERTURNING OF ARMY TRUCK
A verdict that death was caused by a fracture of the skull and laceration of the brain was returned by the Coroner (Mr E. C. Bathurst) at an inquest held on Saturday into the death of Private Albert Ernest King, who died after the overturning of an Anny truck, in which he was a passenger, on May 17. The accident occurred on the road between Greenstreet and Ashburton.
Private King was a single managed 20, a son of Mr G. A. King, 107 Arthur Street, Dunedin.
Evidence given by the driver of the truck, Private Thomas Ernest Hugh Munro, was that he and five other soldiers were picking potatoes the Greenstreet property of Mr W. J. Beattv, of Ashburton. Shortly after midday they left for Ashburton to have lunch, Munro driving. When driven at a moderate speed the truck was inclined to sway, but between 30 and 35 miles an hour it was all right. When they had gone about three miles the truck began swaying and veering to the right. Munro attempted to straighten it but it swerved violently to the right and overturned. Before this happened he took his foot off the accelerator and touched the brake lightly. He believed that the weight of the five men in the back of the truck might have contributed to the swaying. Between the spot where the swaying started and the truck overturned was a distance of about two chains. Although Munro had been driving motor vehicles for five or six years he was not familiar with this brand of truck. He believed he had done all he could to prevent the truck overturning.
Truck Began to Sway.
William John Beatty, who was a passenger' in the rear of the truck, said that when the truck had gone about two miles it developed a swaying motion and swung violently from side to side of the road. He could not see what happened but he heard the crash of flying shingle and the next thing he knew the truck overturned, throwing him on to the road. Getting to his feet, Beatty saw a soldier lying unconscious on the roadway. In his opinion the speed of the truck was not excessive. He had previously ridden in the truck when it was driven by another soldier who was familiar with it and exercised great care, changing down to second gear on corners to prevent the truck swaying. He had never experienced the swaying motion in any other vehicle. Others who had ridden in the truck on the previous occasion said it appeared unsafe.
Evidence of having witnessed the accident was given by Charles Samuel Vial, mains superintendent of the Ashburton Electric Power Board. When the truck overturned Vial was travelling in a car about 130 yards behind it, going in the same direction. He estimated the speed of the truck at between 35 and 40 miles an hour. After following the truck for about a mile he noticed it veer from the centre of the road. It wobbled slightly, turned to the right and somersaulted three times. As it somersaulted the second time a man was thrown out. He did not think the speed of the truck was excessive. Only one man was unconscious and he was lying on the canopy of the truck, which was wrenched off when it capsized. This man was bleeding from one ear. In Vial's opinion there was not sufficient loose shingle on the road to warrant the truck getting out of control and there was no other vehicle approaching to distract the driver’s attention. -Ashburton Guardian, 31/5/1943.
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