Elderly driver mistook accelerator for brake in crash, inquest hears

An elderly man died of unrelated injuries after his car ploughed into a lorry when he mistook the accelerator for the brake, a court has heard.

Frank Anderson's car collided with the truck while navigating a junction on the Roebuck Road in Dublin at 11am on October 6th, 2016. Mr Anderson (86) was hospitalised following the incident and was expected to recover. However, his condition deteriorated suddenly four days after the crash.

“He accelerated and then went to brake when he saw something but hit the accelerator instead,” his daughter Deirdre Redmond told Dublin Coroner’s Court on Wednesday at an inquest into his death.

The incident happened close to the man’s home in Clonskeagh, Co Dublin.

"He was very cross with himself [following the incident]," Ms Redmond said.

The driver of the truck, Bob O’Toole, said he was stationary on the Roebuck Road when he saw the car approaching.

“The car came straight through the stop sign and into my lorry. He [Mr Anderson] kept saying, ‘I’m sorry, I am 100 per cent wrong’,” Mr O’Toole said.

Mr Anderson sustained superficial injuries from his seat belt but no other injuries due to the crash, the court heard.

He was treated at St Vincent’s hospital and was awaiting a convalescent bed when his condition suddenly deteriorated on October 10th. He remained unwell until his death at the hospital on November 5th, 2016.

An autopsy revealed he died due to severe bilateral bronchial pneumonia, with a background of heart disease.

"It would seem that Mr Anderson's death is not injury related, there is no direct connection between the road traffic collision and his death," Coroner Dr Myra Cullinane said.

The jury returned a narrative verdict.

“Clearly he was very active and independent and that’s something to be thankful for,” the Coroner said, extending her sympathy to Mr Anderson’s family.