Lorry driver suffered massive heart attack before Ballyheane crash

Lorry driver suffered massive heart attack before crash


Anton McNulty

A DRIVER who crashed his truck through a garden wall near Ballyheane suffered a massive heart attack and died almost instantly, the inquest into his death heard last Friday.
Joseph Sheerin (59) from Clonmellon, Co Westmeath was travelling along the N84 Castlebar to Ballinrobe road when he suffered a massive heart attack after passing through the village of Ballyheane. The inquest, which was held in Castlebar courthouse, heard that Mr Sheerin’s articulated lorry crashed through a garden wall before coming to a stop 15 metres inside the garden.
Helen Grant, who lives in a cottage with her partner told the inquest that on April 30 last at approximately 12.20pm, she was in her kitchen when all of a sudden she heard a ‘strange, loud sound’. When she went outside to investigate she saw a lorry parked in her garden with the engine running.
The driver was slid forward and she called an ambulance before checking his pulse. She said it was faint and she said a prayer for him before he was taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital.
Garda Declan Casey explained that he talked to persons who were driving behind the lorry and they were of the opinion the road was going to the left such was the gradual direction of the lorry. Sergeant Gabriel McLoughlin, a fatal collision investigator, examined the vehicle and said there were minor defects but they did not contribute to the cause of the accident. He said the lorry veered to the left and after striking the wall travelled for 15 metres before stopping. The tachograph was examined and Sgt McLoughlin clarified that there was no excessive speed involved and the driving was normal.
Mr Sheerin’s widow, Kathleen was present at the inquest and said she last saw her husband alive at 7pm on April 29, and travelled to Castlebar with her family after she was notified of the accident. She arrived at Mayo General Hospital at 6.50pm and formally identified his body after she was informed he had passed away.
The post-mortem was carried out by consultant pathologist, Dr Fadel Bennani who explained that Mr Sheerin had died before the arrival of the ambulance. He said his heart weighed 700g and this was double the normal size of a heart and he died from a heart attack while driving.
The inquest jury recorded a verdict of death by natural causes and the coroner for south Mayo, John O’Dwyer extended his sympathy to Mr Sherrin’s wife Kathleen and his children. He said he was conscious they had lost a father and husband but added that they might get comfort by the fact he died suddenly and suffered no pain. Sympathies were also extended by the gardaí and the jury.