A witness to an incident on the Slane-Navan Road five years ago has told an inquest that he saw a car travelling in front of him veer “all over the road from the left hand grass margin to over the front line, sometimes three feet over the white line into the oncoming lane”. Some time later the car was in collision with a lorry resulting in the deaths of 21-year-old Amy English who was living in Navan, a passenger in the car and the driver 23-year-old Conor McColgan of Feeny, Co Derry. The inquest conducted by the Coroner for Meath Nathaniel Lacy enquired into the deaths which took place on 17th June 2020. Barrister Rachel Duffy instructed by Tormey solicitors represented the lorry driver at the inquest.
In a statement by Michael Kelly, read to the inquest by Garda Inspector Alan Roughneen, he said that he was travelling from Slane to Navan with his friend Dimitru, first to go to the bank in Navan and then to drop Dimitru to Dublin Airport. As he was driving towards Navan he noticed a blue Vauxhall car travelling in front of him. The car had stopped at a stop-go system at Baristown. When the lights went green he noticed the car was slow to pull off. “He seemed to be unclear what lane to be in but he eventually moved out. As we were travelling through the cones at the road works nothing attracted my attention but at Stackallan the road works finished”, he said.
Mr Kelly then said that the car in front started to go “all over the road from the left hand grass margin to all over the white line, sometimes three feet over the white line into the oncoming lane. His passenger asked him for the number of Navan Garda Station “such was his concern about this car’s driving”. He had told Dimitru to ring 999. Mr Kelly said he put on his hazard lights coming up to Dunmoe because there was a vehicle behind him which seemed to want to pass him out. He wanted to warn the driver about the way the car was being driven.
At Dunmoe the Vauxhall increased its speed dramatically to up to about 70kph and disappeared out of his view around a bend. Mr Kelly said that when he drove around the bend the crash had occurred. Later, when he was returning from the airport his daughter rang him to say two people had died in the incident and he had to pull in at Ashbourne to compose himself.
Garda Aidan Pennick, who gave evidence at the inquest, said that there was catastrophic damage to the car to such an extent that the engine block as pushed into the passenger compartment. National Ambulance Service vehicles arrived at the scene and tended to the two occupants of the car. He said that Mr James English and Ms Mary Kelly identified the remains of their children to him at Navan mortuary. In reply to the barrister the Garda said he did not know whether the occupants of the car were wearing seat belts.
The Garda said that the driver of the lorry had been arrested for dangerous driving causing death and a file was sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions who decided not to pursue charges in that regard but the driver was pursued for drug driving after he tested positive for cannabis at the scene. A court conviction for that offence had followed.
Professor Muna Sabah who carried out a post mortem on the body of Ms English said that she had suffered multiple fractures. Toxicology tests showed the presence of cannabis or cannabinoid products, along with ketamine and painkiller oxycodone. She concluded that death was due to cranial and musculoskeletal injuries.
Toxicology tests on the body of Mr McColgan resulted negative for alcohol but positive for ketamine and oxycodone. She concluded death was due to cranial and musculoskeletal injuries. The coroner returned a verdict of accidental death in both cases. He and Inspector Roughneen extended their condolences to the families of the deceased at the conclusion of the inquest.
