TRAGIC REMINDER Flowers mark the spot on the road where three young Ballinrobe men died in a traffic accident last November. Pic: Ray Ryan
Inquest into Ballinrobe deaths
Claire Egan
THE driver of a car which was involved in a road accident in Ballinrobe last November, in which three young men died, was over the legal alcohol limit, an inquest was told yesterday (Monday).
It also emerged that speed was an element in the accident. However, no conclusive evidence was presented regarding the actual speed of the white Mitsubishi Lancer, in which all three men were travelling.
At the inquest into the deaths of Mr Jonathan Donovan (21) of Ballinamona, The Neale, Ballinrobe; Mr Patrick Morley (24), 100 New Street, Balllinrobe, and Mr Aaron Morley (20), 79 New Street, Ballinrobe, it was stated that all three died instantly as a result of injuries sustained in a collision with a lorry on the Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe on November 8, 2006 at approximately 6pm.
Mr John O’Dwyer, Coroner for South Mayo, extended his sympathies to the bereaved families and to all those involved in the road accident. He said he hoped the deaths of the three young men were ‘not in vain’ and that their peers would learn from the tragedy.
“To have a triple death any time or any place is unfortunate and to have it so close to home compounds matters further. There is no conclusive evidence regarding the speed of the motor car but it does appear from the evidence today [Monday] that speed was an element. I hope that these three deaths don’t become another statistic for the county and for the country. If those of the age group of the deceased could have come and seen the anguish of the families here today I would hope it would have some effect. I hope that these deaths are not in vain,” said Mr O’Dwyer.
A jury recorded a verdict of ‘misadventure’ in the death of Jonathan Donovan, while a verdict of accidental death was recorded in the case of Aaron Morley, a back seat passenger, and his cousin, Pat Morley, a front seat passenger in the car which went out of control and collided with a lorry near Ballinrobe Racecourse on November 8, 2006. The car was travelling in the direction of Ballinrobe.
Garda Stephen Clarke, Ballinrobe Garda Station, in evidence to the inquest, said that he received a call at approximately 6.05pm from Claremorris Garda Station to say that there had been an accident on the Castlebar Road, Ballinrobe, near the racecourse.
Garda Clarke said he made his way to the scene and on arrival he saw a small lorry stopped on the left lane travelling towards Castlebar, while there was a badly damaged motor car to the left of the lorry, resting against the wall of Ballinrobe racecourse.
Garda Clarke said there was no sign of life from any of the three occupants of the car. He radioed for assistance and the emergency services subsequently arrived.
Mr Mark Evans of Derryhick, Parke, Castlebar, was travelling towards Castlebar with three of his colleagues, Mr Henryk Modzelewski, Mr Piotr Wisniewski and Mr Marek Rajac. All four men were working at a site in Ballinrobe for John Mulroy Builders.
Mr Evans, the driver of the second vehicle, a white Izuzu pick-up lorry, said it appeared that the oncoming Mitsubishi Lancer car lost control.
“We continued out towards Castlebar and I saw a white Citroen Baligo travelling towards us. Then my attention was drawn to a silver car behind the white Citroen van. This car had its lights on and appeared to be travelling very fast. I say this because it appeared to be making up ground on that white van and appeared to be out of control. The silver car swerved into its left hand side before coming out in front of me. I don’t think it was attempting to overtake because it had already seemed to have lost control. The car then slid sideways down the road and into the front of my truck. The passenger side of the car collided with the front of my truck. It all happened so quickly. There was only a split second and all I could do was brake,” said Mr Evans.
Mr Henryk Modzelewski of 32 Castlegrove East, Castlebar a passenger in the Izuzu pick-up lorry said that when he looked up he saw a four-door car sliding very fast across the road in front of them.
“It all happened very quickly. I am not sure what side of the car we hit. I didn’t see the car before it lost control and came out in front of us. I would say the wet roads would have been a factor in the accident. I remember hearing a big crash and we came to a stop,” said Mr Modaelewski.
Dr Fadel Bennani, Consultant Pathologist at Mayo General Hospital, Castlebar said that in his experience of working in the west of Ireland for the past ten years, this was the most tragic case he had come across.
He outlined the individual injuries sustained by all three men, confirming that each had died as a result of fatal multiple injuries sustained in a road traffic accident. He confirmed that Jonathan Donovan and Aaron Morley tested positive for alcohol.
Detective Garda Noel Burke of Ballinrobe Garda Station said that when he arrived at the scene of the accident, at approximately 8.15pm, the scene was sealed off and a large crowd had gathered. A white Izuzu pick-up lorry was on the centre of the roadway, in its correct position facing in the Castlebar direction. The front of the vehicle was damaged. The white Mitsubishi Lancer was situated on the right hand side of the road as one travels towards Ballinrobe, with the front of the vehicle beside the stone wall. This car was extensively damaged. All three men were identified and transported to Mayo General Hospital at 9.40pm.
Mr Tom Walsh, solicitor for the Donovan family, extended his sympathies to the families of Aaron and Pat Morley and to all those involved in the road accident. Similar sentiments were echoed by Ms Terry Mullan, on behalf of the families of Aaron Morley and Pat Morley respectively.
