FATAL U-TURN AT TOLL PLAZA
ELDERLY MAN DID U-TURN AND COLLIDED HEAD-0N WITH VAN THREE KILOMETRES UP THE MOTORWAY
AN elderly North Cork farmer was killed when he collided with a van after driving for over three kilometres on the wrong side of the main Cork-Dublin motorway between Watergrasshill and Rathcormac, an inquest has heard.
Tom Joe O’Riordan (84) from Ballyarra, Castlelyons had entered the M8 southbound lane just south of Rathcormac and driven up to the toll plaza at Watergrasshill when he decided to do a u-turn and drive back against the traffic on the southbound carriageway on December 30, 2016.
Toll plaza manager Sean O’Donnell told the inquest at the North Cork Coroner’s Court in Mallow that Mr O’Riordan came up to within 50 metres of the toll barrier at around 11.30am when he indicated right and, in a controlled fashion, completed a u-turn and drove back up the southbound carriageway.
Mr O’Donnell told how he rang Fermoy Garda Station to alert them and Sgt Edward Geary, who investigated the fatal collision, said that gardai received a number of similar phone calls as motorists rang in to report that Mr O’Riordan was driving on his incorrect side.
Van driver Conor McCarthy told how he was bringing a load of Evening Echo newspapers from The Irish Times print works at City West to Cork and was just overtaking an oil tanker south of Rathcormac when he saw Mr O’Riordan’s Isuzu Trooper jeep approaching him.
“I was about level with the rear wheels of the oil tanker when I saw a jeep coming towards me – I didn’t have time to react and the jeep crashed into me,” said Mr McCarthy, who ended up with his foot trapped between the pedals and suffered a broken wrist, broken leg, dislocated hip and fractured pelvis.
Mr McCarthy had to be cut by firefighters from his Mercedes Sprinter van, which continued for some 300 metres after the impact, and he was rushed by ambulance to Cork University Hospital, where he remained for over a month before being discharged.
The inquest heard evidence from Dr Margaret McLoughlin, who was travelling in the northbound carriageway when she saw the collision and she attended to Mr O’Riordan, who had suffered serious injuries and while he had a faint pulse it soon faded and she pronounced him dead at 11.35am.
The inquest heard from PSV Inspector Garda Kevin Connolly, who said the impact was an off-set, head on collision where the drivers’ side of both the jeep and van collided before glancing off each other, and the cause of the collision was due to Mr O’Riordan’s driving on the wrong carriageway.
Forensic Crash Investigator Garda Raymond Sweeney said a slight right hand bend would have made it difficult for Mr McCarthy to tell that Mr O’Riordan’s jeep was not on its right carriageway and it was only when he could see it straight on that he would have known it was in his carriageway.
The inquest heard from a statement from Consultant Neurologist Dr Peter Kenirons that Mr O’Riordan came to him in 2011 complaining of slight memory loss so he prescribed Aricept to deal mild cognitive impairment, but he failed to keep a follow-up appointment some six months later.
Mr O’Riordan’s GP, Dr Joe Keane, said in a statement that Mr O’Riordan had been on Aricept to deal with early dementia but his mental health had not deteriorated since he went on the medication and there was no obvious deterioration when he saw him just two weeks before his death.
Consultant Neuropathologist Dr Niamh Bermingham found evidence at post-mortem of an Alzheimer type pathology but this did not mean that he was suffering from the disease as it would require a clinical assessment of him while still alive to confirm such a diagnosis, the inquest heard.
The inquest also heard testimony from Mr O’Riordan’s widow, Moira and his son, Martin that he was his normal self on the day in question and did not seem confused, and he had a usual routine of calling to his two sons to help them at their farms.
Witness Patrick Beecher of Rathcormac Tyres said Mr O’Riordan didn’t seem any different when he left him at 11.20am but that he must have continued through Rathcormac village and ended up on the motorway rather than taking an earlier turn-off to bring him home by local roads.
Mr O’Riordan’s other son, William, said he missed his father calling that day, but he was seen at his farmyard and he confirmed his father wouldn’t have been used to driving on the motorway as he always travelled by local roads between their farms and his home.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margaret Bolster said Mr O’Riordan died from traumatic brain injury with haemorrhage and diffuse axonal injury associated with multiple fractures of long bones, ribs and pelvis but would not have suffered as he would have become unconscious immediately.
The jury returned a narrative verdict that Mr O’Riordan died as a result of a road traffic collision while driving against the oncoming traffic at Curraghprevin, Rathcormac before Photo: Provision
extending their sympathies to his family on their loss and wishing Mr McCarthy a speedy recovery.
Coroner for North Cork Dr Michael Kennedy noted the verdict and also extended him sympathy to Mr O’Riordan’s family on their loss before echoing the jury’s good wishes to Mr McCarthy and similar sentiments were expressed by Insp Aileen Magner on behalf of An Garda Siochana.