Accidental death verdict from Mulranny crash inquest

Accidental death verdict from Mulranny crash inquest


Marathon eight-day inquest concludes; family say tragedy has caused them ‘sleepless nights’

Anton McNulty

A VERDICT of accidental death has been recorded at the inquest into the death of an Achill woman who died when her van collided with a cement truck in 2004.
The marathon inquest, which lasted for eight days in Castlebar Courthouse, heard that Ashling Gallagher (22) of Askill, Achill Island, died on December 22, 2004, when the van she was driving collided with a cement truck on a bend along the N59 near Mulranny.
The jury of five men and one woman took 45 minutes of deliberation to return a verdict of accidental death.
The main issue of the inquest surrounded the surface of the road which was a temporary dense bitumen macadam (DBM) binder course surface and whether it was responsible for the van losing control and crossing the road into the path of the truck.
The DBM surface had been laid in October 2004 following roadworks, but the laying of the final wearing surface was postponed until the following May because of the weather conditions. In the meantime, the road was painted with road markings and was opened to traffic with a 100kph speed limit.
The Gallagher family claimed that the DBM surface was not suitable to carry traffic unhindered on high speed roads, while Mayo County Council and the National Roads Authority argued it was safe for traffic at the time of the accident.
The eight-day inquest heard contradictory evidence from various road surface experts who claimed the surface was safe for unhindered traffic or should have been controlled.
Mr John O’Dwyer, Coroner for south Mayo told the jury before their deliberation that the only logical verdicts to consider was accidental death or death by misadventure.
Following the verdict, Mr Damien Tansey, solicitor for the Gallagher family said that the motivation behind the family’s approach to the inquest was to ensure another similar tragedy does not happen again in the future.
“That was the driving force and motivation which any parent can appreciate and a sense of duty and loyalty. This tragedy has caused endless sleepless nights and continues to do so,” he said.
Expressions of sympathy to the family were expressed by Mr O’Dwyer, Superintendent Mick Murray, John Gordan, foreman of the jury and the legal representatives of both Mayo County Council and the NRA.

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