Fatal Accident Caused By Dog
Rushden Man Thrown From Cart When Motor Skids
Driver Exonerated

  A dog was the cause of a fatal accident in Bedford-road, Rushden, on Monday, when Mr. Harry Green (63), a labourer in the employ of Messrs. Asher Abbott and Sons, jobmasters, fell from a cart and received injuries from which he died during the night.

  In charge of a two-wheel horse drawn cart, Mr. Green had delivered a load of manure and was returning towards the town when a dog which was accompanying him ran into the road in front of a motor car which was about to overtake the cart.

  The motorist, Mr. Eric Charles Carruthers Scott, of 114, Basingstoke-road, Reading, attempted to avoid the dog, but the car skidded and struck the back of the cart.  The horse took fright and Mr. Green was thrown from the cart, falling near the grass verge on the left-hand side of the road.

  The motorist was assisted by a pedestrian to pick up the injured carter, and at once conveyed him in the car to Wellingborough Infirmary.  Mr. Green was then semi-conscious, and suffering from head injuries.  He shortly afterwards lost consciousness completely, and died in the Infirmary at midnight.

  The deceased resided with his wife and two of their children – a daughter and a son – at 6, Park Cottages, Bedford-road, Rushden.  He had been in Messrs. Abbott’s employ about five years.

The Inquest

  The inquest was held at Wellingborough Police Station on Wednesday.

  The widow, Mrs. Rose Green, was the first witness.  She said her husband had been employed by Messrs. Abbott and Sons for five years as a farm labourer.  He was used to dealing with horses and driving carts, and his eyesight and hearing were both good.

  Replying to Mr. A. J. Darnell (Northampton), who represented Messrs. Abbott and Sons, she said there were two children, aged 15 and 10.

  Eric Charles Carruthers Scott, outfitter, of Basingstoke-road, Reading, said he was driving his 12 horse power car from London to Loughborough on Monday about 12.30 p.m., and about two miles from Rushden, on the Bedford-road, he saw a cart in front of him, going in the same direction on its proper side.

  The Coroner: Did you notice whether anybody was riding on the cart? – I think I can say “Yes.”

  Was there any other traffic about? – None whatever.

  Did you indicate that you were going to pass by sounding your horn? – Yes.

  And you proceeded to pull out for that purpose? – Yes.

Four-Wheel Skid

  Asked by the Coroner to relate the subsequent happenings, Mr. Scott said:

  “I proceeded to overtake, and when within 20 yards of the cart I saw a large dog appear from in front of the horse’s head.  The dog went two-thirds of the way across the road, and then stopped and stood like a statue.

    “Not wishing tokill it, I put on the foot brake, but the car immediately went into a four-wheel skid, and spun right round, facing in the direction of Bedford.

  “The car then collided broadside on with the cart and stopped.  The horse immediately bolted on to the grass verge, and I saw a man lying in the road, touching the verge.

  “Two men helped me to lift him into the car, and another man who said he knew him came in the car and directed us to the nearest hospital, which was at Wellingborough.

  “We then returned to the Police Station at Rushden and reported the matter.”

  The Coroner: What position was the man lying in on the road? – Parallel with the grass verge, his head towards Bedford.

  You have four-wheel brakes on your car? – Yes.

  What was the condition of the road? – Wet.

  And greasy? – Not particularly.

  How long have you been driving? – Five years, but I have not been driving this particular car long.

  Mr. Scott said there were two men standing on the grass verge on the opposite side to the cart, and the Coroner asked Supt. Jones, who attended the inquiry, if the police had been trying to trace those men.

  The Superintendent agreed, and said the men appeared to have been tramps.

No Indication

  Replying to a juryman, Mr. Scott said the driver of the cart gave no indication that he had heard the car’s horn.

  Answering Mr. Darnell, he put his speed at 35 miles an hour at the time he sounded his horn.

  Mr. Darnell: Was it due to putting on the brakes so suddenly that caused the car to skid? – I had to brake hard because of the situation – the dog.

  In answer to Mr. S. Levine (London), barrister-at-law, who represented him, Mr. Scott said he averaged about 30,000 miles a year as a motorist, and had never been summoned for an offence.

  Adrian Richard Elson, secretary to a private company, of Marine Bungalows, Boxhill-road, St. Leonards-on-Sea, who was riding in the car, said when approaching Rushden he saw the cart, but he was not certain if anybody was sitting on it.

  Mr. Scott sounded his horn, then a dog came in the car’s path, and the next thing he remembered was the car turning round and striking the cart.

  The horse bolted on to the grass verge and then down the road, and the dog followed it.

  The Coroner: Did you see anybody fall off the cart? – No.

  Mr. Scott was driving at a reasonable speed? – Quite a reasonable travelling speed.

Green’s Injuries

  Dr. Richard Moser, of Wellingborough, Medical Officer to the Wellingborough Infirmary, said when he saw Green on Monday afternoon he was semi-conscious and very excitable.

  He had a large bruise on his right shoulder and a jagged cut on the right side of his head, about an inch long, above the ear.  He had been bleeding from the nose and ear.

  In reply to the Coroner, the doctor said it was difficult to tell how serious such cases were; it depended on the amount of haemorrhage inside the head.

  He remarked that he thought Mr. Green would recover.

  The Coroner: Did you see him again that evening? – No, not until after he had died.

  When did death take place? – About 1.30 a.m.

  Dr. Moser said death was due to a fracture of the base of the skull, and in reply to the Coroner he agreed that the injury was very likely due to the man’s falling on his head in the road.

  P.C. Smallman said at 1.25 p.m. on Monday Mr. Scott, in company with Mr. Elson, reported to him at Rushden Police Station that while driving from Bedford to Rushden he had collided with a cart near the Isolation Hospital, and had taken an injured man to Wellingborough Infirmary.

Signed Statement

  Mr. Scott made a voluntary statement, which he signed.

  The Coroner: Does that statement correspond with the one he has made to-day? – Yes.

  The constable said Mr. Scott’s car was damaged.  The tyres were in good condition.

  At the scene of the accident the road was 18ft. 6ins. wide, with a grass verge on either side.

  There were no skid marks of a car, and when he remarked on this to Mr. Scott, he drew his attention to the wet state of the road.

  There was a pool of blood six inches from the grass verge on the left-hand side, facing towards Rushden, and he found cart wheel tracks issuing from a by-lane down the road.

  Summing up, the Coroner said Mr. Scott had given his evidence very fairly, and he told the jury that they should have no difficulty in arriving at a verdict.

  The evidence had not shown which part of the cart the dead man was riding on, but it was a common practice for drivers to stand on the back of the shafts and lean on the cart.  That was very probably how Green was riding.

  Mr. A. Smith, of the Volunteer Inn, Wellingborough, one of the jurymen, told the Coroner: “I was in Rushden about three weeks ago – it is really rather strange that I should be here to-day – and that dog was mentioned as being a danger on the road.  I believe it is a large, black dog.  It wobbles about the road, and when persons go past on cycles and motor cycles it goes after them.  Have the police had any complaints in Rushden about the dog?”

  P.C. Smallman said he had only been transferred to Rushden recently, but he had not heard of any.

Followed The Cart

  Supt. Jones said the dog belonged to the owners and followed the cart.

  The Coroner recalled Mrs. Green to ask her about the animal, and she said it was a cross-bred retriever.

  The Coroner: Have you heard any complaints about it? – No.

  Mr. Darnell: Is it an affectionate dog? – Yes, as far as I know.

  The Coroner: If it is going to be a danger to other people it is time something was done to it – not necessarily destroy it, but restrain it.

  The jury asked if further inquiries could be made about the animal, and it then transpired that Mr. Abbot was in the building, and he was called.

  The Coroner told him: The jury are quite satisfied that this dog was the cause of the accident.  Have you had any complaints about it roaming about the road and upsetting people in cars and running after motor cycles?

  Mr. Abbott said he had not.

  The Coroner: will you keep it up in future?

  Mr. Abbott said he would.

  The foreman (Mr. H. R. Williams) announced the fury’s verdict of “Accidental death,” and exoneration of the motorist from blame.

  Mr. Levine, expressing condolence with the bereaved family, said that Mr. Scott, had he known what was going to happen, would have driven on over the dog.

  Mr. Darnell, agreeing, said human life was the more important.

  Mr. Scott spoke his personal regrets to the widow.