Jury fails to reach verdict on cyclist’s death

A 59-year-old Ballycastle woman charged with careless driving causing the death of a cyclist faces the prospect of a retrial after a jury failed to agree on a verdict following a trial last week.
Nuala Delaney Whelan of Ballyknock, Ballycastle, pleaded not guilty to careless driving causing the death of a cyclist at Rathroeen, Ballina, at around 4.45pm on May 28, 2017. Mr Patrick McHale (53) of Rathglass West, Knockanillaun, Ballina, died three days after he sustained head and spinal injuries, as well as suffering respiratory failure, when Ms Nuala Delaney Whelan’s car hit his bicycle. He had been cycling in the direction of Killala on the Sunday afternoon in question. A regular cyclist, he was wearing cycling gear and a helmet at the time of the accident.  
At last week’s sitting of Castlebar Circuit Criminal Court, Judge Rory McCabe and a jury of eight women and four men were told that the defendant was driving in the same direction as the deceased. She was driving towards her home with her octogenarian mother, Mary Ellen Whelan, after they had visited a garden centre in Turlough, near Castlebar.
Prosecuting barrister Patrick Reynolds explained that the State’s allegation was that Ms Whelan was driving below the level of care she should have been exercising when she hit the cyclist.
He called a number of witnesses who came upon the accident, as well as expert witnesses and a number of gardaí who attended the scene.  
Under questioning, Sergeant Gabriel McLoughlin, a Forensic Collision Investigator, explained that the accident had occurred at the junction to Rathroneen Civic Amenity Centre on the R314, 2.6km from Ballina.

Reconstruction
Later during the hearing, he outlined details of his reconstruction of the accident, stating that it occurred in an 80km speed zone, on a straight stretch of road that has a filter lane for the right turn to the civic amenity centre. He said there was virtually no hard shoulder on this section of the roadway and that there were no tyre or scuff marks at the scene to show the point of collision.
The fact that there were overhanging trees and bushes was raised by the counsel for the defense, Bernard Madden, on a number of occasions.   
Under questioning by Mr Reynolds, witness Gerry McDonnell told the court that on the Sunday afternoon in question he was heading home to Killala after attending a GAA match in Castlebar with his two children when he came across the scene of the accident.
“I saw something on the road and then a car further on, I said there was something wrong here and I stopped. I saw the injured cyclist and the car further on,” Mr McDonnell said.
Mr Madden noted that the witness had described in his statement that it was ‘a bright sunny evening’ and that ‘the car was about 30 feet in front of the victim’ .
“You knew her because she does community care in the area. I think you described Ms Delaney Whelan as ‘shivering and shaking’,” Mr Madden said.  

Statements
In cautioned statements read in to the court record by Mr Reynolds, Ms Whelan Delaney, a care-home manager with an address at Journey’s End, Ballyknock, Ballycastle, detailed her movements on the day of the accident. She said that she was driving at 70kmph when a cyclist came from her left wearing dark clothes and proceeded toward the middle of the road. She said she turned her wheel hard to the right but was aware that she hit the back of the bicycle.
“I am devastated about what happened, but believe I could not have done anything else,” she said.
The jury retired to deliberate on their verdict on Thursday morning but failed to reach a unanimous verdict. The jury members were asked to return on Friday morning to consider a majority verdict. After lunch on Friday, the foreman told Judge McCabe that they still had not reached a verdict, and when asked if there was a possibility of reaching a verdict, he replied ‘no’.
At 2.28pm, Judge McCabe was informed by the foreman that they had failed to reach as verdict where at least ten agreed and the jury was discharged. Judge McCabe remanded Ms Delaney-Whelan on bail until October 25 when a new trial date will be determined.