Parents not to blame for Achill child’s death

SYMPATHETIC Corner, John O'Dwyer

Parents told they are not to blame for child’s death


Anton McNulty

THE Coroner for south Mayo told the parents of an Achill child who died after being hit by his father’s jeep that they were not responsible for what happened and the incident was an accident.
Two-and-a-half-year-old Raymond Guthrie died after he was hit by his father’s jeep, which was reversing, at the side of their home in Derreens, Achill, on July 12 last. The jury found that the death was accidental, and the South Mayo Coroner Mr John O’Dwyer told the parents, Shane and Lisa, that they should not feel guilty for Raymond’s death.
“This is an awful tragedy to befall the Guthrie family, and  I know that Shane and Lisa as parents – and equally Raymond and Bridget as grandparents – all share serious guilt at the loss. This was an accident and there was no neglect whatsoever. This child was so small he couldn’t be seen [the danger] … a lot of young children are attracted to moving vehicles … I put it to you Shane and Lisa that you are not responsible – don’t ever take that upon yourself,” said Mr O’Dwyer.
The inquest into Raymond’s death heard that Shane and his father, also Raymond, had used the jeep to collect some timber to build a chicken coop. Shane explained that he was reversing his jeep at his house, and had moved two feet when he hit something. He thought he had hit a ditch, but one of his sons screamed that it was little Raymond. After picking the boy up from under the vehicle, Shane put him back into the jeep and drove to the home of the GP, Dr Paddy Lineen, where he was pronounced dead.
The scene of the incident was preserved by the Gardaí and an investigation into Raymond’s death was undertaken. Sergeant Gabriel McLoughlin, a PSV inspector, told the inquest that he examined the jeep and found there were no defects to the jeep and added that due to the size of Raymond and the size of the vehicle, it would have been difficult to have seen the child behind the jeep.
Dr Malcolm Little, consultant pathologist, performed a post mortem on Raymond and concluded that the cause of death was cerebral contusions and hemorrhaging due to a fracture of the skull caused by violent impact consistent with being run over by a road vehicle.
After the jury recorded a verdict of accidental death, Mr O’Dwyer said he hoped that Shane and Lisa would find the strength and courage to deal with their tragic loss. His sympathies were echoed by the foreman of the jury and by Superintendent Willie Keavaney, who said that this was every parent’s worst nightmare but added that time was a great healer and that he hoped that one day they would get over their loss.