Girl, 13, died after being hit by van
A GIRL died after being struck by the wing mirror of a van moments after getting off a school bus near her home, an inquest has heard.
Aisling Kennedy, 13, passed away at Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street in Dublin on July 12, 2022 – more than three months after the incident.
The First Year student at Presentation Convent in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, never regained consciousness after being transported to the hospital by air ambulance following the accident a short distance from her home on April 7, 2022.
The driver of the school bus, John O’brien, told an inquest into her death at Dublin District Coroner’s Court that he had pulled in at a crossroads near Aisling’s home at Ballymacarbry, Co Waterford.
He said she was standing to the left of the vehicle as he moved off to continue his journey.
Mr O’brien said neither he nor any of the remaining students on the bus witnessed the accident.
Motorist John Fahy said he was returning from working in Dungarvan, Co Waterford, in a van with two of his employees when he saw the school bus stopped on the opposite side of the road to his direction of travel.
Mr Fahy, who runs a construction firm based in Borris-in-ossory, Co Laois, recalled that he had slowed down as a number of other vehicles coming towards him were overtaking the bus.
The witness said that he just caught sight of a girl approaching his van from the right-hand side as he was driving past the bus before hearing a bang.
He told the coroner that everything happened “in an instant” but he believed the girl had appeared from a car that was behind the bus.
Garda Conor O’donovan confirmed Mr Fahy had a full driving licence and had tested negative for alcohol and drugs. Garda O’donovan said he believed Aisling had come from “a blind spot” which left the van driver with “no opportunity to react”.
The inquest heard Aisling was placed in a medically induced coma at Temple Street but her condition never improved despite several operations.
A postmortem confirmed she died from traumatic brain injuries she had suffered from being struck by the wing mirror with bronchial pneumonia a contributory factor.
Returning a verdict of accidental death, Dr Gallagher said the incident came “out of the blue” and could not have been predicted or prevented.