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MAYLANDS CAR SMASH.
EVIDENCE AT INQUEST.
Gaynor's Drinks.
Evidence that John Edward Gayuor, of
the Peninsula Hotel, Maylands, was a
good deal under the influence of liquor
when he was medically examined about
an hour after a car driven by him had
crashed into a party consisting of two
women and their four children in Eighth
avenue. Maylands, on Christmas night,
killing one of the women, Mrs. Marion
Sasson (25), a native of Palestine, was
given by Dr. D. S. McKenzie when the
inquest into Mrs. Sasson's death was com
menced Gefore the Coroner (Mr. T..Y; A.
Lang) in the City Courthouse, yesterday.
Gaynor's car struck Mrs. Sasson, her sis
ter, Mrs. Dora Schenburg, Rachel Sasson
(7) and two perambulators, one of them
carrying Mrs. Sasson's two infant child
ren,- Rose and Pearl, and the other carry
ing Mrs. Schenburg's baby. All 'were flung
down, Mrs. Sasson being killed almost in
stantaneously and her three children-being
seriously injured. Mrs. Schenburg ? and
her baby escaped with a shaking. The
police allege that Gaynor was driving on
the wrong side of the road when ? the
collision occurred. '? Sergeant Lynes ex
amined the witnesses, and Mr. M. G.
Lavan, K.C.. and with him Mr. S. Howard
Bath, represented Gaynor. Mr. Hubert
?arker watched the proceedings on be
half of Mrs. Sasson's relatives. Gaynor,
who has been charged with having un
lawfully killed Mrs. Sasson, was present
at the inquest, being seated alongside hit*
counsel.- :?.?.? l ?? ' ?.
Maurice. Sasson; of Beechboro-road, Bays
water, who was so overcome when he
entered the witness box that it was
some time before he could ,give his evi
dence, said that on December 26 he visited
the morgue iaud identified the body of his
wife, Marion Sasson, a native of Palestine
She. had good eyesight and- hearing. »
Dr. D. S. McKenzie said that at 11.15
p;ni. on ^nriscmna mgnt ne examined
John. Edward Gaynor at the central police
station. Gaynor's medical history revealed
;hat he had always enjoyed good health,
le was a steady drinker, 'generally taking
half-a-dozen pots of beer daily. On . the
night of the- accident, so Gaynor informed
him, he had had six drinks of beer, hay
ing' taken .his 'last drink that day about
6 p.m. When examined, Gaynor appeared
to be moderately drunk. His breath smelt
strongly of stale liquor and he experienced
some difficulty inr buttoning up his clothes
after. the' examination.- He appeared' some-
what drowsy; --his-eyes' were blodshot and
his fingers tremulous. His intelligence
was- satisfactory and he could walk all
right. Witness concluded that he-' was then
still a good deal under the influence of
alcohol! but was recovering. In wit
ness's opinion he could not then have con
trolled a .motor- car: in a satisfactory or
safe manner. .
Cross-examined by Mr. Lavan. witness
said', that no actual driving test was given
Gaynor after ,his examination. Halfa
dozen drinks, of 'beer should not affect a
man accustomed 'to. drinking beer. Blood
shot eyes were' nbfr necessarily a sign of in
toxication. : Excessive cigarette smoking
could cause trembling of the fingers. Shock
following the accident, might have been
to. a certain , degree responsible, for Gay
nors condition'. Witness believed that in
Gaynor s case alcohol was mainly the cause
of his condition. ?
Constable John v Richardson, of the Traf
fic Branch gave evidence of having visited
the scene of the accident with Constables
Cummings' and King at daylight on De
cember 26..' There were footpaths on either
side of .Eighth-avenue, but they were very
luuKu.iicai me. »cene or. me accident, and
would not be suitable for use by anybody
pushing a pram, particularly on the north
side.. The roadway was lined with trees,
and would 'be very dark if the street
lamps were not .burning. The nearest lamp
to the- scene of the accident- was on the
corner. of Coode-street and Eighth-avenue;
some distance .back from, the scene of the
accident.- ???'??? .
'Incorrect Side.'
-Cbhstables Rayfield W. Grey, of the
iralbc Branch, said he visited the scene
of the accident with Constable Menzel
on the night of December 25. He learned
Iw^^iSassohjiWas deadyand then spoke
to- traynor.i who Vsaid'thalt' he had just
ieft- the . Peninsula Hotel in his car and
had . been, driving ? along Eighth-avenue
to Beaufort-street. Witness then inspected
(raynor s. car which was standing on the
south- side of. the street. The front, mud-
guard-, and headlamp on the right-hand
side and »the .rear mudguard on the same
side were damaged. Witness followed the
cars tracks and found that after passing
the. Coode-street intersection it had run
off -the edge of the road on its incorrect
side and had travelled 57 feet with the
right-hand' side wheels off the edge of
the bitumen, road, which was 14. feet
vnde at, that; point. The point at which
the car. struck the women and prams was,
according ,tof the indications, just off the
edge of the road on that side. . The car
had then swerved across to - the other
side, leaving very distinct skid ? marks on
the bitumen; and had pulled- up on its
correct, side. Witness asked Gaynor how
he had happened to hit the people. Gay
nor replied, 'fl didn't see them. They didn't
give me a dog's chance.' Witness then
asked him why he was on his wrong
side but he did not answer for a few
seconds. He -merely stared at witness. He
then said, ,'I.was not on my wrong Bide.'
I: had been watching Gaynor closely
for some tune, and I concluded that he
was under the influence of liquor,' wit
ness added. 'His gait was unsteady, his
eyes were bulging and his breath smelled
of^uquor. I asked him where he had been
all. day, and he replied that he had been
at-, the Peninsula Hotel.'
Mr. Lavan: I would like to know,
through your Worship, whether the wit
ness warned. Gaynor in any way. If
Gaynor was in the condition that Con
otauic wey says ae was, wnicii we deny,
it was not right of Constable Grey to
question him. It was not fair play
.The Coroner: The evidence is admis
sible (To witness) Did you warn Gay
nor? -?
? Witness: No. I did not warn him in any
wav- I asked him how much drink he
had had. He. replied 'Between 20 and 30
pots, and added, 'What I want to know
!??' ar? Tou siting this down?' I told
mm that he could see I had no notebook.
He then went on and said it was on
the previous day that he had had the
20 or 30 pots.. He added that he had had
no, liquor that ;day. When I asked him
if he really, meant- that, and he replied
that he had had two drinks that day,
both- of them after dinner, and added
Do you think I'm drunk now?' I replied
that I thought. he was,, and asked him to
accompany me to the police station.
?Witness- added that he examined the
brakes on Gaynor's car and found them
to be in order. After Gaynor had been
examined by Dr. McKenzie at the police
station witness told him that he was
going to be charged with having driven
a motor car while under the influence
of liquor, and with having unlawfully
killed Marion Sasson. He said to Gay
nor» ,'-5y the wav» do you know that
you killed that woman to-night?' Gay
nor mumbled something in reply, which
witness could not understand.
Victim's Companion.
Mrs. Dora Schenburg, of Beaufort
street, Maylands, sister of Mrs. Sasson,
said that on Christmas night Mrs Sas
awix auu iit-i uiniureii jeit iier Home in
company with witness to spend a holiday
with witness. They travelled to Maylands
from Bayswater by train and then walked
up Eighth-avenue in a westerly direction
towards Beaufort-street. Witness was
pushing a pram carrying her eleven
months old baby, and Mrs. Sasson was
pushing a pram containing h.er babies
Pearl (3 months! and Rose (2). Mrs.
Sasson's third child Rachel (7) walked by
the pram. The party walked on the right
hand .edge of the roadway, because the
footpaths were too rugged. Witness
walked in front and her sister followed
immediately behind, Rachel keeping close
to her mother. After passing Coode
street, witness saw the beam of a motor
car's headlights approaching from the
rear. She said to her sister, 'Follow me
into the sand. There's a car coming.'
They all moyed into the sand and stood
about midway between the footpath and
the roadway to allow the car to pass.
Witness turned and saw the car passing
Coode-street. Its headlights were then
full on them. Witness turned away from
it and the next thing she remembered
was the roar of the car and then the
car striking, them. Witness was thrown
down and heard the children screaming.
She picked herself up and looked around
for the children. Both perambulators
were overturned in the sand close by
each other, and parcels were scattered
over the vicinity. Witness's attention
was then attracted by the screaming of
the car's brakes as the vehicle pulled
up on the opposite side of the road. She
saw a man get out of the car and then
she turned to pick up the children. The
babies were lying in the sand near the
prams and Rachel was lying near the kerb
of the footpath, groaning. After attending
to the children witness went to her sister
who was lying unconscious in the centre
of the bitumen roadway. A crowd of
people had ' gathered by then and some;
one rang for the ambulance. fWitness
added that there was no other traffic on
the road at the time. Asked if it was a
dark night, witness said it was not. She
could see quite well. She did not hear
the car sound its horn.
Cross-examined, witness said that when
she and her sister went into the sand
to allow the car to pass, they stood within
one pace of the edge of the footpath.
Witness's baby was thrown on to the
footpath by the impact. When witness
first saw the car it was travelling on its
incorrect side.
'A Dull Thud.'
James Ramsay Petrie, residing at the
north-east corner of Eighth-avenue and
Coode-street, said he remembered Christ
mas night. He was outside his house that
night and it was a bright clear night.
The street light outside his house was
burning and another nearer Beaufort
street was also lighted. About 10 p.m. he
heard -a motpr car pass along Eighth
avenue towards Beaufort-street. After it
had passed the Coode-street intersection
it appeared, by the noise it made, to have
speeded up. He then heard a dull thud and
people screaming. He visited the scene
and then notified Constable King of the
accident. It was dark at the scene of the
accident because of the big overhanging
trees on either side of the street.
Cross-examined by Mr. Bath witness
said the car would be going uphill after
passing his place, and it would be necessary
to accelerate to get over the hill. When
Gaynor stepped out of his car after the
accident witness though he appeared very
agitated. - He was taking short quick puffs
at his cigarette, and witness judged his
agitation from his manner.
Arthur Henry Hill, of Eighth-avenue,
Maylands, said he was one of the first to
arrive at the scene of the accident. When
ne arrived liaynor, who told witness he
was the driver of the car, was bending
over the body of Mrs. Sasson. Witness
examined Mrs. Sasson. and found, that
her -heart had ceased beating. Her pulse
ceased to beat as witness held her wrist.
When. Gaynor spoke witness noticed that
his breath smejjed strongly of liquor. ?
Cross-examined by Mr. Lavan, witness
said that Gaynor did riot stagger when
he walked.
Norman Arthur Arundale, of .Wagin,
country representative of the Texas Oil
Co., called by Mr. Lavan,. said that at
Christmas time he was staying at the
Peusinsula Hotel,' Maylands. - About 9 p.m.
witness and a man named.. Mahpney went
into the hotel lounge and saw Gaynor
there with his father . and' mother and
Messrs Manning and Todd. Witness
spoke a few words to Gaynor, and saw him
walking about during the ensuing hour.
There' was' nothing about him to suggest
that he was under the influence of liquor.
Witness had never previously met Gaynor.
Se saw Gaynor kiss his- mother- goodbye
before he left the hotel. Gaynor was
then no different in appearance .from
what he was in court. ' '
The hearing was adjourned to 2.15 p.m.
to-day. ? ? ....
$