Three friends died after being thrown from a car which lost control on a bend and collided with a truck parked on the other side of the street, an inquest heard tonight.
Gda John Reynolds said the car was travelling at between 78 kilometres-per-hour to 89kph in the 50kph residential zone on Dublin's North Circular Road (NCR) when Christopher McGowan and Helen Power, both 30, and Thomas Shortall, 42, died from multiple injuries around 3am on April 21th, 2005.
The Dublin Coroner's Court heard the injuries of the couple - Ms Power and Mr McGowan, from Parkgate Place, Parkgate Street in Dublin but originally from Co Offaly - were so horrific they had to be identified by dental records.
The sole survivor, Kenneth McCaffrey, told the inquest it was chance circumstances that had brought the four friends together that night.
Mr McCaffrey said himself and Thomas Shortall, from Shurock, Moate in Co Westmeath, had driven up to Dublin that night to travel by ferry to Holyhead to deliver a forklift to a customer.
But after they had problems with the engine of the truck, they missed the ferry, checked into a B&B and met up with their old friend Mr McGowan. The crash occurred as Mr McGowan drove them back from his public house in Ballybock around 3am.
"I recall turning around to Tommy in the back, and the next thing I recall is waking up in hospital," Mr McCaffrey, who received multiple injuries, said.
"I definitely did not have my (seat) belt on and I don't think anyone else did either."
The inquest heard Mr McGowan was over the legal alcohol limit for driving. Witnesses said the scene of the accident on the NCR in Dublin was one of devastation. The sole survivor, Mr McCaffrey, was hanging half inside the car.
Gda John Reynolds, the forensic collision investigation unit, calculated the car was travelling between 78kph to 89kph at the time it crossed the road on the bend and collided with the truck parked on the opposite side.
The jury, who gave a verdict of misadventure in all three deaths, recommended restricted parking areas for heavy goods vehicles should be clearly marked, and when parked at night they should display lights.
PA