Double Fatality at Barrow

EVIDENCE OF EYE WITNESSES AT THE INQUEST THE CYCLE-DRIVER ENTIRELY TO BLAME

The inquest on the two 17 year-old Barrow lads who died as a result of injuries sustained in a collision between the motor cycle on which they were riding, and a tramcar, was held on Wednesday. The Coroner for Furness (MR. F. W. Poole) sat with a jury. The dead lads were James Albert Artis, 59, Delhi-street, the driver of the motor-cycle, and Herbert Devereux, 39, Mikasa-street, who was riding on the pillion. Both were apprentice fitters.

Harry Frank Shepherd, 59, Delhi-street, a storekeeper at Vickers-Armstrongs, gave evidence in the case of Artis, who was his nephew. Deceased left home about 6.30pm. on Sunday on his motor cycle, accompanied by Devereux, who was riding on the pillion. He said they were going to Devereux’s house. He had had the motor cycle about three months, and took out his first driving licence at the beginning of April.

Evidence of identification in the case of Devereux was given by his father, Michael Devereux, 39, Mikasa- street.

TRAM DRIVER’S EVIDENCE

Samuel Lawley, 28, Telford-street, a tram driver, employed by Barrow Corporation, said about 6.45 p.m. on Sunday he was driving a tramcar from the Town Hall to Amphitrite-street. He stopped at the King Alfred Hotel to let passengers off, and let a car (i.e. tramcar – author) coming from Biggar Bank pass. He then proceeded on the single track towards Amphitrite-street, travelling at about six miles an hour. When he was about half a car length (about five yards) from the corner of Mikasa-street and Ocean-road, he was watching some children who were playing on the roadway, and at the same time was ringing his footbell. He had just got to the corner of Mikasa-street when he heard a crash and saw a motor-cycle hit the front of his tramcar. He immediately put on his electric brake and stopped the car in its own length. He did not actually see the motor-cycle strike the car. He got out of the car and saw one man bleeding from the nose, and the other man was lying on the road near the middle of the tramcar and was bleeding from a wound on the head. He did not hear any warning of the motor-cycle’s approach. There were marks on the front headlight of the car.

CYCLE PUSHED 35 FEET

P.S. Carter spoke to examining the roadway at the scene of the accident. In Mikasa-street, 8ft. 6ins. from the gutter, on the right side, he found tracks of the motor-cycle tyre. Alongside the track was a mark, two feet long, apparently made by the deceased dragging his right foot to take the corner. At the point where the collision occurred there were marks indicating where the motor-cycle was knocked over and pushed 35 feet. The direction taken by the deceased showed that he had been slightly cutting the corner. He was two feet over the centre of the road on his wrong side. He could not look up Ocean-road except for about 15 feet from the end of Mikasa-street. The engine had been knocked out of the frame of the motor-cycle and one cylinder smashed. The brakes and tyres were in good order.

William Barker, 3, Hastings-street, conductor on the tram, said at the time of the accident he was on the rear platform, and on approaching Mikasa-street he saw a motor-cycle with pillion passenger coming towards Ocean-road. He only saw then for a moment when he heard the crash. The driver of the car was sounding his bell and was travelling between five and six miles an hour. The motor-cyclist was travelling about 20 miles per hour.

Margaret Murray McLaren, 30, Ocean-road, gave evidence of seeing Artis drive along Mikasa-street with a pillion rider towards Ocean-road at a reasonable speed. She happened to look towards Ocean-road when the impact took place.

Edward William Robinson, 104, Dominion-street, farm labourer, said he was standing at the front door of his house about 100 yards from the scene of the accident, looking up Mikasa-street, and he saw the motor-cycle, which did not appear to be travelling at an excessive speed. He appeared to be on the left side of Mikasa-street, but towards the centre. He assisted in moving the injured youths after the accident. The tramcar was going at a moderate speed.

Grace Carney, 32, Ocean-road, also gave evidence of witnessing the accident.

CORONER’S COMMENTS

“These accidents are getting far too frequent,” said the Coroner. “We seem to be having a very bad time in Barrow just now with fatal accidents. In this case, from the evidence it appears to be entirely the fault of the driver of the motor-cycle, and there is no fault on the part of the tram driver. The only suggestion one could make against the tram driver would be that he did not appear to have looked to his left hand side at all. If he had he might have seen them sooner and by applying his brakes might have avoided the accident. He has a perfectly justifiable excuse for not having looked to the left, because he was watching some children who were playing on the right hand side, and was doubtful as to whether they might or might not have run across.”

He was afraid that on this occasion the motor-cyclist was going at a speed which was excessive having regard to what he might meet on turning into Ocean-road. It would appear to them all that an experienced driver of a motor-cycle would have had no difficulty in avoiding the tramcar. In many ways he might have avoided it, but as one of the witnesses said, he appeared to have lost his head and hesitated, which, of course, was in most cases fatal. In that hesitation he failed to do what he might have done, if he had had more experience. The doctor had stated that both men were suffering from fractures at the base of the skull.

The jury returned a verdict of “Accidental death.”

On behalf of the Corporation, Mr. T.A. Morgan expressed sympathy with the relatives of the dead lads, and the Coroner associated himself with Mr. Morgan’s remarks.

The Barrow News, 4th May 1929