GARDAI PROBE SAT NAV LINK TO AMERICAN TOURISTS’ DEATHS

GARDAI investigating a fatal crash on the main Cork-Mallow road on Monday are examining whether the deceased may have been using a satellite navigation device which directed them to cross the outbound lane of traffic from Cork as the shortest way to get to the tourist village of Blarney.

Tourists James Baker (62) from Columbia City, Indiana and Peggy Sue Adams (59) from Delphos, Ohio were both fatally injured when their hired Skoda Octavia being driven by Ms Adams’ husband, Jack (67) was involved in a collision with a truck at the Waterloo Junction on the main N20 near Blarney.

Garda inquiries have revealed a previous collision at the same location where motorists escaped serious injury after they were impacted when using a sat nav which directed them to cross the outbound lane from Cork and turn down for Waterloo as the shortest route to get to Blarney.

Now gardai are examining whether the Americans may have been also using a sat nav to guide them to Blarney via Waterloo rather than continuing further towards Cork city where they could have exited off the N20 at Clogheenmilcon and gone via an underpass to Blarney.

According to a Garda source, the possibility the Americans were using a sat nav for directions is just one line of inquiry into their investigation into the cause of the collision which was the subject of a technical examination at the scene by a garda forensic crash investigator.

Both Mr Baker, who was a front seat passenger, and Ms Adams, who was sitting behind him in the rear seat, were fatally injured when the left side of the car took the brunt of the impact and Mr Adams and Mr Baker’s wife, Deborah (60) received serious but non-life-threatening injuries.

The car was travelling from Mallow towards Cork and was turning right across traffic coming from Cork to descend the Kiln Hill towards Waterloo when it was in collision with the truck which was coming from Cork towards Mallow.