MOTOR ACCIDENT.

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume L, Issue 12145, 30 December 1907, Page 2

MOTOR ACCIDENT.

INVERCARGILL, December 27

The holidays were marred to same extent by a motor accident near Wallacetown, 8 miles from Invercargill, on Christmas Day. A motor party or three ladies and two children, driven by R. J. Cumming, were returning from a trip to Riverton. At the turn leading to the bridge, Cumming, an inexperienced driver, saw he was not taking the turn properly, and, to avoid crashing into the bridge, turned off, intending to run the car parallel with the i-iver bank. He lost his head, however, and did not turn sufficiently, with the result that the car shot straight over an eight-foot bank, and landed squarely on its wfrels in the stream. Fortunately the water was not deep where the car landed, and the occupants, who had jumped or fallen clear of- the car, scrambled to it^ with the exception of on©,child.and a" young lady, Daisy Lumsclon, who floated down the stream to deep water. Cumming waded in and rescued his child, but, as he was unable to swim, ho could not reach the -oung lady, who gradually sank and woe drowned in sight of the party. The body of the unfortunate girl, who was 21 years of age, was recovered two hours later. A veil, twisted round the face, suggested that it obscured her sight when the accident occurred, causing her to struggle towards deep instead of shallow water.

The car wiie afterwards hoisted by a derrick out of the stream. Cumminp had 'benight it only a fortnight ago, and this was his first long venture in it without a tutor.

At tho inquest to-day the jury found that the deceased met "her death by drowning as the result of a motor accident, duo to the want of experience of tho driver. They added that the approach to the bridge was one of peculiar difficulty, and that Cumming did everything in his power to avert an accident. 'In a rider, the jury drew the attention of the authorities to the necessity of permission to drive motor cars being restricted to certificated drivers, and also pointed out to the County Council that the approach to the bridge should b& made safer.