DEATH OF HUSBAND ‘LEFT A VOID THAT CANNOT BE FILLED’
SUCH were her own severe injuries suffered in the crash which killed her husband, that Mrs Flanagan was unable to attend his funeral.
In a victim impact statement which Judge Keenan Johnson described as dignified and inspiring, Mrs Flanagan recalled how it was arranged for her to be brought by private ambulance from Sligo University Hospital to her home for her husband’s wake but was only able to remain for 20 minutes due to the severity of her injuries.
Mrs Flanagan’s statement, which was read to the court by Sgt Derek Butler who investigated the fatal crash, said she suffered a very severe shatter injury to her left arm which resulted in the insertion of a plate in her wrist but she had no function in it whatsoever. She also had a cut to her right forearm, a fractured sternum, cracked ribs and injuries to her shoulders.
There was also severe bruising, an injury to her right leg, a laceration to her stomach and she spent one month in hospital. She has been in severe pain and discomfort since. She was dependant on her children as her physical capabilities had been greatly reduced.
After the crash she had difficult sleeping. “I frequently would go to sleep and then waken suddenly feeling confused and not knowing where I am. Frequently, I also waken and see ambulances and can hear people talking and it takes me some time to settle in bed and to realise where I am.”
The flashbacks have been intense which can be triggered by something on television or if she is reminded of her husband. She would jump if there was any sudden noise and she had feelings of depression.
Before the accident she was active and was involved in household chores and also gardening and decorating. She also loved swimming and walking but which she had to give up.
“My family have all rallied around me and each of them have been as supportive as they can be in the circumstances but nothing can replace the presence of my husband who was there with me each and every day,” she said.
Her husband had been extremely active and was in peak mental and physical health. He was a constant source of reference for her, their children and six grandchidren. Her husband was very much the centre of the family. He was a keen boat builder and repairer while he also was a game fisherman, travelling on trips all over the West of Ireland.
“Thomas and I regularly went on two to three holidays a year to places like Teneriffe, Majorca, Spain, Portugal etc and we also spent a lot of our summers in our mobile home in Enniscrone which we loved every year. With the exception of one trip abroad with my daughter last year I have not been going on foreign holidays as I have lost enthusiasm in the absence of Thomas.
“I have only dropped down to Enniscrone very infrequently since Thomas’ death as I find it very lonely being there by myself.” She underwent grief counselling but there was nothing that would assist her in coming to terms fully with the loss of her husband. She found winter time in particular difficult due to the long evenings.
“Thomas was the centre of the family. This accident caused him to be taken away from the family in such a tragic, sudden and traumatic manner and has left a void which cannot be filled and this has left a permanent impression not alone on myself but also on my three children and grandchildren,” she said.
Judge Keenan Johnson extended the sympathy of the court to Mrs Flanagan and said it had been an horrific experience for her to endure and unfortunately she was still living the nightmare of the loss of her husband. He commended her on her very dignified victim impact statement which gave a harrowing account of the effects of dangerous driving. He said such statements never ceased to move him and the RSA should consider publishing them on its website to show the effects of dangerous driving. He described Mrs Flanagan as a very admirable person and an inspiration and his heart could not but go out to her.