Mayo hero who saved his niece's life will never be forgotten

The heroism of a Ballina man who sacrificed his own life to save his four-year-old niece will never be forgotten, the inquest into his death heard.

James Moyles (33) of 37 Mount Assumpta, Ballina died on February 21, 2024 after he sustained serious brain injuries after he was struck by a car while crossing a pedestrian crossing in Ballina.

The inquest into Mr Moyles death heard that he was crossing the road on Lord Edward Street, Ballina on February 20, 2024 with his four-year-old niece Croía and took the full force of the car's impact after pushing her out of the way as the car approached.

Mr Moyles was thrown into the air and landed 16.4 metres from the pedestrian crossing and suffered a fracture to the base of his skull and died the following day in Mayo University Hospital.

Coroner for Mayo, Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald was informed that Mr Moyles and his niece had been in Carr's Daybreak shop and were returning home at around 6.25pm when a car driven by Keith O'Brien approached the pedestrian crossing.

CCTV footage from Carr's shop showed that Mr Moyles lifted his niece out of the way and she was not struck by the car and escaped with only minor injuries.

David O'Malley, solicitor representing the Moyles family, told the inquest that had it not been for the heroism of James Moyles, two people would have died that evening.

“The greatest love anyone can have is to lay down their life for someone else and James did that for his niece. The driver was on the balance of probability over the speed limit and did not brake on impact on a pedestrian crossing and it could have led to the death of two people only for the heroic behaviour of Mr Moyles,” he said.

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Court presenter, Sergeant Seán McHale said that Mr Moyles will always be remembered by the people of Ballina for his heroism that night.

“The situation could have been an awful lot worse but for the heroism and how he saved Croía's life that night. He will be forever remembered for the wonderful person he was to the people of Ballina but also for what he did that night in saving Croía. For that he will be forever remembered,” Sgt McHale said.

Kevin O'Brien of Low Valley, Crossmolina, the driver of the Skoda Octoavia car which struck Mr Moyles did not attend the inquest but issued a letter to the Moyles family apologising for what he did.

Dr Fitzgerald explained that Mr O'Brien said in the letter that no words will ever undo the damage done to the Moyles family and nothing he can write will take away their grief, pain and suffering.

She said he wrote that while sorry he will always be sorry he knows that sorry will never be enough or bring back James.

“If I could take your pain and carry it for you I would. I would do anything to be able to undo what happened. James and Croía should have been safe on that crossing and James should be still be alive today. I have no explanation as to what happened. I did not see them until it was too late. I should have seen them and been able to stop, it was my responsibility," he wrote in the letter.

Solicitor David O'Malley asked for verdict of unlawful killing

A Garda investigation into Mr Moyles death found that Mr O'Brien was travelling towards Ballina when he came towards the pedestrian crossing. CCTV footage showed that the Skoda failed to slow at the pedestrian crossing or take any evasive action and only hit the brakes after striking Mr Moyles.

Garda John Horkan told the inquest that after examining the CCTV footage, he was able to determine that the Skoda was travelling at 52.8km per hour at the point of impact. The speed limit of the road is 50km per hour.

He added that the CCTV also showed that Mr Moyles moved swiftly to lift his niece towards the footpath and he did not believe the car struck her.

Mr O'Brien told gardaí that he was bringing his son to piano practice when he struck Mr Moyles and that he did not see him or know how it happened.

The impact of Mr Moyles striking the car resulted in the windscreen getting smashed and witnesses described how he was thrown into the air like a balloon.

One witness, Mary Clarke Flanagan, told gardaí she was in a parked car when she saw Mr Moyles and his niece crossing the road. She noted that as the lights of the car approached she thought that it would want to slow down soon or it would hit the pedestrians.

Emergency services were on the scene within minutes of the collision occurring and a number of members of the public went to help both Mr Moyles and his young niece. The inquest heard she was whimpering and in shock but Mr Moyles was in a serious condition.

First responders performed CPR on Mr Moyles and he was rushed to Mayo University Hospital but was pronounced dead the following day.

Dr Fadel Bennani, Consultant Pathologist in Mayo University Hospital who performed the post mortem said that Mr Moyles had multiple rib fractures on his left side but the main injuries were to his brain. He explained he suffered a fracture to the base of the skull and the cause of death was massive sub-arachenoid haemorrhage due to a fracture to the base of the skull.

Dr Bennani explained that Mr Moyles was only kept alive at the scene due to the quick intervention of members of the public and emergency services but there was no chance of him surviving.

Mr O'Brien tested negative for both alcohol and drugs and it was found his vehicle was not defective at the time of the collision and he was not using his mobile phone. He later pleaded guilty to dangerous driving causing death and last October he received a two and a half year suspended prison sentence and was banned from driving for ten years.

In his submission to Dr Fitzgerald, Mr O'Malley said the family of Mr Moyles wished to acknowledge Mr O'Brien's apology but said the only verdict open to her was one of unlawful killing. He said the recent ruling in the Stardust inquest highlighted that if an unlawful act is carried out, the only verdict open is one of unlawful killing.

However, Dr Fitzgerald disagreed saying she did not believe Mr O'Brien did not carry out the act intentionally and was willing to record an accidental death.

Mr O'Malley responded that if an accidental death is recorded he will be taking a judicial review and suggested that an alternative verdict of a narrative verdict be recorded instead. Dr Fitzgerald agreed to reconsider the verdict and recorded a narrative verdict of dangerous driving causing death.

The inquest also heard that work is to take place at the pedestrian crossing on Lord Edward Street to make it safer and Dr Fitzgerald also recommended that raised pedestrian crossings should be in all towns and villages to slow down traffic.

Mr O'Malley added that the family also asked motorists to be vigilant of pedestrians at pedestrian crossings and to remind them that pedestrians have right of way on them.