Newspaper Article 1905 – Car Accident

HASTINGS.

A serious motor car accident occurred on the Maraekakaho road yesterday afternoon about 4.30, near the residence of Mr Thomas Roe and about one and a half miles on the Hastings side of Maraekakaho.  Mr C. A. Smith, of Olrig, and his son (aged about 6 years), Mrs Hector Smith (of Redclyffe), and her little daughter (about four or five years old), together with Miss Green, a nurse employed by Mrs H. Smith, were returning from Olrig.  When nearing the scene of the accident, the steering gear went wrong, with the result that one of the wheels came off, the axle broke, and the occupants were thrown out of the car.  Mrs Smith was seriously hurt, and the little girl also received severe injuries about the head, but apart from the shock and the shaking the rest of the party escaped with bruises.  The sufferers were taken to Mr T. Roe’s house, where they were made as comfortable as possible, and a messenger was despatched to the Maraekakaho station, whence a telephone message was sent to Dr. Tosswill, who at once set out from Hastings to attend to the injured persons.  An ambulance was also sent out from Mr W. A. Beecroft’s.  Mrs Smith was conveyed to the residence of her father, Mr. W. Nelson, Waikoko, whilst the others followed in a carriage, arriving at Hastings about midnight.  It is said that the car was going at a steady speed at the time of the unfortunate occurrence.  On inquiry being made this morning it transpired that Mrs Smith had sustained a fracture of the thigh, and was progressing more satisfactorily than could reasonably be expected.  The injuries to the child are serious and nothing definite can be learned regarding her condition.