Ernst Emil Bunzly

Ernst Emil Bunzly was run over in the middle of the carriage drive on North Shore in Blackpool on Christmas night.

He had been the head chef at the Savoy Hydro and had left his wife in the afternoon of 23 December for work where he was required to live in for the Christmas holiday period.

The head waiter at the Savoy Hydro said that when Ernst Bunzly left the building on Christmas night he was in good spirits and then 15 minutes later he was found dead on the Promenade.

He was found by a motorist who noticed him lying in the road.

The inquest heard that there was a fair amount of traffic about at the time with cars passing every few minutes. The man said that he was quite sure that he had not run over Ernst Bunzly adding that when he pulled up there were already three ladies near his body.

The police found pieces of glass about the roadway near the spot where he was found which were thought to have come from a car headlamp. Blood was also found about 12 feet from the kerbstone which extended for about 16 feet from the Promenade.

A doctor said that Ernst Bunzly had a fracture at the base of his skull, an incised wound on his right temple and other injuries about his body consistent with having been knocked down by a motor-car. He gave the cause of death as being the result of a fractured skull.

The police said that inquiries were made at all garages in the Flyde and that the CID were involved. Also, circulars were issued by the Chief Constable and appeals were made for the missing driver throughout the country and the assistance of the BBC and the Press obtained. the inquest heard that ninety-nine police forces in the country had investigated but no information was forthcoming.

A policeman said that they had traced certain motor cars at Hull, Sheffield, Buckinghamshire, Oxford, St. Annes and Rawtenstall but inquiries at each location proved fruitless.

The Coroner said 'On the night in question the weather was very wild and it was possible that pedestrians using the road would be under some difficulty. It is very hard to conceive, in my view, that a man of Bunzly's weight could be knocked down, a lamp smashed, and glass thrown into the road without a person driving the vehicle being aware that he had come into contact with something. That being so, and assuming Bunzley was knocked down by a motor car, it is very difficult to understand the mentality of a person who would drive on, if he was free from blame, without stopping. There is no reason why he should not have come forward to elucidate how Bunzly came to his death. The driver is blameworthy for not stopping.'.

The Coroner went on to say 'Apart from anything else a person who has been injured should receive immediate attention and a matter of seconds to that man is of great moment. It is almost unthinkable that anybody in this country might be guilty of such an action. Of course, we do get them, and occasionally we see in the papers cases where motorists, after knocking someone down, have driven on. I don't think it is possible for me to say anything too strong about behaviour of that kind. I have seen remarks about it being unBritish, but I think we can go a good deal further. It is beyond question of nationality. I think it is inhuman.'.

An open verdict was returned stating that 'Bunzly was knocked down by some motor vehicle unknown, but under the circumstances there is no evidence to show how it came about'.