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POLICE PATROL CAR
CAPSIZED.
Accident on Commercial-road
.WIRELESS OPERATOR
KILLED.
TWO CONSTABLES DANGER-
. OUSLY INJURED.
Hurrying nt; 3.45 a.m. yesterday to re
spond to a wireless call from tlie city
,(v,(l quarters, the police pptrol ear travel-
line from Malvern overturned opposite
Mfre'l Hospital, Conimereial-road. whore
the thoroughfare is brohen up and in a
vcit rougli condition owing to the electric
tramway trnck being under repair. 'Hie
car was travelling at rapid . speed, and in
the dnrhncr.s the brohen state of the road
was not observed until too late to avoid
the disaster. The wireless operator wss
m seriously injured that lie died foul
hours later. The victims were: —
DIED FROM INJURIES.
Constatilo ARTHUR ROY CURRIE. 27 years,
wireless operator.
ADMITTED TO POLICE HOSPITAL.
Cooslable W. HODGSON, 25 years, chauffeur,
severe shook, broken left wrist, chest and
head Injuries.
Constable P. EDWARDS. 24 years, severe head
injuries, severe shock and Injuries to wrist.
Constable A. E. SLOAN. 26 years, broken thumb,
fractured olliow, abrasions and shock,
INJURED.
Sealer Constable VINCENT HERBERT. 37 years,
cut Sneer, log and head, and multiple
abrasions.
The patrol car, one of the two high-
powered Lancia, cars, capable cf n speed
nt 81 miles an hour, was in charge of
Senior Constable Herbert, ana wna driven
hv Cnnstoblc Hodgson. The police wore
doing patrol worb at Malvern, when Con
stable Clinic, who was in charge of the
wireless apparatus, received a call from
Itnssell-slreet reporting that a car be
lieved to have been stolen bad been seen
in Mall house-lane, bctrfcen Flinders-
lane am! Flinders-street, neat- Collins-
place.
Speed was put on, and the car raced
hack to the city. When Hearing tho inter
section of Punt-road and Commercial-road
speed wan -reduced to 40 miles an hour.
Xearing the spot where 'the relaying of
the track is being curried out by the
Tramways Board, the ear passed between
two red lights on the tram track, 'which
arc intended as a warning to traflic to
take the side lfciad. Just " opposite
the enhance to Alfred Hospital ' tho
heavy ear ran on,- to the- open
roughly ba lasted tram track. Al
though the car took a pcrilo.us list Con
stable Hodgson ' succeeded in keeping the
car an its wheels until it ; reached the
line of entrance to Alfred Hospital, where
a level crossing has been put in. C As the
car returned to the horizontal the near
side wheels slipped down a bank about
, IS inches high, and the car overturned.
The live occupants were thrown out
Constable Curric was. rendered uncon
scious. Immediate assistance was forth
coming from the Alfred Hospital staff,
and the injured received prompt medi-
eal attention. Constable '.Clinic's con-'
ditiou was hopeless from the outset, and
without recovering consciousness he died
at 7.25 a.m. from fracture of the skull.
After treatment at Alfred Hospital
Hodgson, Edwards and Sloan .wore re
moved to the police hospital, and Senior
Constable Herbert was taken to his home.
Baring the day tho three incii made
satisfactory progress.
.- The tar was very seriously damaged,
and the new wireless equipment, which
cost £250, was ruined. Constable Hodg
son was an experienced driver, and had
lieen driving -otic of 'tlie Lauciu cars for
over twelve mouth:,"/ - ...
Countable Ciirric was' a wifeless en
thusiast, and boinedl the- police force oil
July, 1923. He was Very popular with
liis. colleagues, and- did valuable' work
with Constable Cmmning in perfecting the
wireless installation for the police cars.
His parents live at Swan Hill, and the
funeral will probably take place there
on Monday.
On three previous occasions tho patrol
cars had been involved in serious neci-
dcots, but although on each occasion the
lepair hill ran to over £200, no one was
injured. Tho most spectacular of these
was, on a wet night in St. Kilda-road,
when the car, . travelling n't- 80 miles an
hoar to investigate a. burglary, skidded
and leaped from the kerb light over a
loekery. Particulars .of 'these accidents
were not made public.
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