A man whose daughter died with her mother in a road crash in Co Mayo has told the driver of the other vehicle involved he does not hold him responsible for the loss of the “two beautiful souls”, an inquest has heard.
A letter from Arnaud Tournié, who is based in France, was read to Mayo Coroner’s Court by Dr Eleanor Fitzgerald at a hearing into the July 2nd, 2024 deaths of Aisling Moore (46) and Abbigael Tournié Moore (8).
The mother and daughter, who lived in Swinford, were travelling on the N26 between Foxford and Swinford when their Toyota car was involved in a collision with a Scania truck unit and trailer at Callow, Foxford.
The pair were on a break at the Ocean Sands Hotel in Enniscrone and intended to return, said John Burke, the hotel’s accommodation manager, who spoke to Ms Moore before she set off on the journey.
READ MORE
Truck driver Martin Crean, of West Coast Express, told the inquest in Ballina that he was travelling towards Foxford with a 45ft trailer when the car came around a bend at speed on the wrong side of the road.
“I thought it possible to go into a side road but the vehicle kept coming towards me,” he said.
Mr Crean said he was traumatised and shocked by the collision and what he witnessed afterwards.
In a deposition read to the hearing, eyewitness PJ Wall said he was driving to Swinford behind a silver car which went on to the wrong side while negotiating a bend.
Mr Wall said the driver of the car tried to correct herself but the truck hit her and pushed the vehicle along the road before jackknifing and sending the car into a ditch.
Sgt Gabriel McLoughlin, public service vehicle inspector for Mayo, said in a statement that no defects that would have contributed to the collision were found in either vehicle.
Pathologist Dr Tamas Nemeth said Ms Moore’s cause of death was extensive injuries including multiple fractures and head injuries. Abbigael’s death was caused by extensive head injuries.
After recording verdicts of accidental death, the coroner read Mr Tournié’s letter to Mr Crean into the record.
“No words can express the depth of my grief. Yet, despite this immense pain, I want you to know I do not hold you responsible for this tragedy,” he wrote.
“I want to extend my heartfelt support to you. I know you must carry this image with you every day, and that it cannot be easy for you or your loved ones.”
Mr Tournié said he did not want Mr Crean to “be consumed by guilt” because the collision was “neither the result of any wrongdoing or negligence on your part”.
The letter concluded: “Please receive these words as a gesture of compassion, of humanity, and, I hope, a small measure of solace.
“I wish you with time the inner peace needed to move forward and to honour, in your own way, the memory of these two beautiful souls.”
