Gardaí unable to attend crash scene as no car available, inquest told

Gardaí did not immediately attend the scene of a collision which brought about the death of a pensioner because there were no garda cars available, an inquest has heard.

Evelyn Buckley (81), from Glasnevin Avenue, Dublin, was visiting a relative in nearby Beaumont on September 6th, 2015 when the car she was driving collided with another at around 2pm.

Mrs Buckley initially refused to go to hospital because she did not want to ‘cause a fuss’ but ended up dying in hospital some 12 hours after the crash, Dublin Coroner’s Court heard.

Garda Phillip Murphy attended the scene of the collision in Beaumont Woods at 4.30pm, some 2½ hours later.

“There weren’t enough vehicles to go to the scene. This would have been a minor traffic collision involving minor injuries. It would have been lower priority,” Garda Murphy said.

No forensic collision examination was conducted and Mrs Buckley’s car was moved to her son’s house. Paramedics assessed Mrs Buckley at the scene and found she was fully articulate.

Dublin Fire Brigade member Gerard Wood said Mrs Buckley “refused to go to hospital, she didn’t want to be bothering people.”

Resisted

Attempts were made to persuade Mrs Buckley to go to hospital but she resisted and instead sat in a chair provided by a neighbour.

The driver of the other car, Sinead Reynolds, said Mrs Buckley was driving directly towards her and she stopped in anticipation of the impact. The two vehicles collided head-on and both airbags deployed. Ms Reynolds suffered a cut to her hand and was treated in hospital.

Described as healthy and independent, Mrs Buckley had suffered a fall around two weeks previously, the court heard.

When her son Conor Buckley arrived at the scene, she agreed to go with him to the emergency department. Her condition deteriorated in hospital and she died the following day at 2.45am.

Pathologist Dr Ann Marie O’Shea gave the cause of death as a bruise injury to the brain with a collection of blood in the brain tissue and brain swelling. She was taking blood thinning medication which potentially made her more susceptible to bleeding, the inquest heard.

The jury returned a verdict of accidental death.