Puncture on fatal-crash car ‘not caused by the accident’
ONE of the tyres on a car in a fatal collision that claimed the lives of four women was flat at the time of impact, a trial heard.
Service vehicle inspector Garda Tony O’Halloran told Naas Circuit Court that the tyre was of ‘poor overall quality’ due to bad maintenance.
And another tyre was under inflated by over 50% when examined by Garda O’Halloran the day after the collision which claimed the lives of Gemma Nolan, 19, Charmaine Carroll, 20, and Niamh Doyle, 19, all from Carlow, and Aisling Middleton, 19, from Athy.
Dayna Kearney was driving the car carrying her four friends that collided with an oncoming van on the N78, Burton, Athy, Co. Kildare, on the night of January 6, 2015.
The 23-year-old denies dangerous driving causing death and knowingly driving a defective vehicle. Ms Kearney – a provisional license holder at the time – was badly injured and had little recollection of the events.
Garda O’Halloran said the flat tyre, which was on the rear driver’s side, had a slow puncture that had not been caused in the accident. It probably went flat on its last journey from Kilkenny to Athy as it would not have been possible to drive far on a flat tyre, he said.
The tread depths were above legal limits but wear indicated under inflation and there was a crack on the side which indicated it had been left flat for quite some time previously.
He believed the deflated tyres led to a loss of stability in the wheels and direction in the car. This caused the car to yaw and turn right into the wrong lane, colliding with the front of the van on the passenger side. But other aspects of the car were in good condition prior to the accident including brakes and steering.
Roderick O’Hanlon SC, defending, suggested the worn inner wall of the tyre would not be something the driver would see easily. Garda O’Halloran accepted this but added: ‘Every driver has a certain responsibility in terms of the vehicle they are driving.’
Mr O’Hanlon suggested the driver could have been unaware there was a problem until the day of the accident. Garda O’Halloran said the tyre would have been identified if the 01 Volkswagen Polo had its annual test. The court previously heard Ms Kearney, from Crossneen, Co. Carlow, bought it about six months before the accident after seeing on Done Deal.
The ad claimed the car had an NCT up to April 2015, and a disc with the same details came with it. But it was later discovered the car’s NCT disc expired in May 2014. The contents of the Done Deal advertisement were read out in court by Mr O’Hanlon. It said the car had 110,000 miles and tyres were in good condition. Garda O’Halloran said if someone bought a second-hand car they should have someone check it.
He added: ‘Paper never refuses ink. Do not take the word of an ad for a 2001 vehicle. Maybe I expect a higher standard of a motorist.’
Garda collision investigator Paul Monaghan gave evidence that the under-inflated tyres would have affected steering noticeably. In cross examination, he accepted the size of the cat’s eyes on the road were significantly greater than the recommended levels but did not believe they had an effect.
The cat’s eyes were 35mm above the road surface in contrast to the EU guidelines of 18-25mm. The court previously heard that gardaí could not find any road marks indicating an impact between the cat’s eye and the tyre.
Defence witness automotive engineer John Hayes said an impact with a cat’s eye would present a risk to an under inflated tyre due to its lack of stability.
He said there was nothing the defendant could have done once the car lost control.
Mr Hayes added there was no certainty what the tyre pressure levels were pre-accident.
‘Paper never refused ink’