CROSSING SMASH
FATAL ACCIDENT AT DROMORE.
ONE MAN KILLED; ONE INJURED.
EXPRESS STRIKES MOTOR-LORRY
A fatal crossing smash occurred at the Dromore level crossing at about 3.40 o’clock yesterday afternoon, when the northbound express struck a motor-lorry travelling east over the crossing.
The driver of the lorry, Mr Lloyd Driscoll, aged 20, a single man, a farmer, son of Mr and Mrs H. L. Driscoll, of Seafield, received fatal injuries to his head.
Mr Charles Henry Thomas Hunt, aged 20, of Dromore, who was a passenger in the lorry, was admitted to the Ashburton Public Hospital suffering from shock and injuries to his back and lower ribs. Mr Hunt’s condition is reported to be satisfactory. Mr Hunt, who lately returned from the Middle East, is a married employee of Mr Driscoll, and lives near the crossing.
The two men had loaded the lorry with lime at the Dromore goods shed, had driven north a short distance and turned to cross the line when the accident occurred. The lorry was struck by the front engine of the express and tossed clear of the line. Both occupants were thrown out several yards further on. Lieut-Colonel J. J. Brownlee, who was travelling on the express, attended to both men before they were removed to the hospital. The express was delayed 17 minutes.
Only the chassis of the lorry remained intact, and the front locomotive of the express was white with lime, which had to be removed when the express reached Rakaia.
An inquest into the death of Mr Driscoll was opened by the Coroner (Mr E. C. Bathurst) and was adjourned after evidence of identification had been given by Mr Driscoll senior. -Ashburton Guardian, 15/8/1944.
FUNERAL NOTICES.
THE Funeral of the late Lloyd Driscoll will leave our Chapel, corner of Cass and Victoria Streets, Ashburton, on THURSDAY, August 17, at 2 p.m., for the Ashburton Cemetery.
BAKER BROS. & KING, LTD. -Ashburton Guardian, 15/8/1944.
CROSSING SMASH
THE FATALITY AT DROMORE.
RAILWAY PERSONNEL BLAMELESS.
EVIDENCE AT THE INQUEST
An inquest into the death of Lloyd Driscoll, who was killed in the crossing smash at Dromore on August 14, was held before the Coroner (Mr E. C. Bathurst) at Ashburton to-day. The verdict was that deceased came by his death as the result of a compound comminuted fracture of the skull and extensive lacerations of the brain, received when the lorry he was driving collided with the front engine of the north-bound express at the Dromore crossing.
The Coroner stated that no blame was attachable to any railway personnel, and he made special mention of the action of the fireman who blew a warning blast on the engine whistle. He suggested that the Railway Department consider the installation of automatic warning'signals at the crossing. The Stationmaster (Mr G. A. Miller), who appeared for the Department, said the matter would be referred to the appopriate authorities.
Herman Louis Driscoll, father of the deceased, said that he last saw his son leaving in a truck for the Dromore railway station to load lime. Deceased was 20 years old and was a farmer by occupation. He was not married.
The evidence of Charles Henry Thomas Hunt, who was a passenger in the lorry, was that the engine of the lorry was very noisy. When struck by the engine it was crossing the line at from five to 10 miles an hour and no action had been taken to avoid a collision.
The medical evidence on which the Coroner based his verdict was given by Dr. Patricia Rae Ford, house surgeon at the Public Hospital. She said that in addition to injuries to his head deceased had probably fractured one or more vertebrae.
It was stated by John James Mansfield, a railway porter, of Dromore, that the engine of the express blew its whistle twice just before it reached the station and again when it was about 200 yards south of the crossing. The train was travelling at from 45 to 50 miles an hour. After the impact the front engine of the express stopped about a quarter of a mile north of the crossing. Witness found the body of deceased a few yards east of the line and north of the crossing. There were no obstructions to visibility about the crossing and the day was clear.
Evidence of Eye-Witness. George Thomas Smart, a water ranger, said he was cycling north along the road behind the railway station and witnessed the accident. He could remember hearing the train whistle only once, when it was five or six chains south of the station. The lorry was about half-way across the line when it was struck. It turned completely over and ended up on its wheels again. Further vision was obscured by the cloud of lime-dust which rose when the collision occurred. The brakes of the train were applied immediately the lorry was hit.
The express left Ashburton four minutes behind time, said William John Douglas, the driver of the front engine, but he was not trying to make up that time when the accident occurred. He blew a long blast about 100 yards south of the station. When the train was almost on the crossing his fireman called to him to stop and he applied the brakes just as the engine struck the lorry. Immediately everything was obscured by a cloud of limedust and witness could see nothing till the train had stopped and he cleared his eyes.
The evidence of Terence John Sullivan, the fireman on the second engine, was that when the train passed through the station he saw the lorry going toward the crossing and sounded the whistle to warn its driver not to attempt to cross in front of the train. No notice was taken of the warning.
Constable Alan Robertson Grant said there was no evidence on the road of any attempt having been made to stop the lorry before it tried to cross the line. The crossing angled a little and a driver going east would have to look slightly back to see a train coming from the south.
Mr Miller commended the action of the fireman in anticipating the action of the lorry and sounding the whistle; which apparently was not heard above the noisy engine of the lorry. Under the circumstances the driver had stopped the train very quickly. Mr Miller voiced the sympathy of the Department with the relatives of deceased.
Senior-Sergeant J. F. Cleary conducted the case for the police. -Ashburton Guardian, 14/9/1944.
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