Elderly Dublin motorist has no memory of running over her sister-in-law, inquest hears

An elderly motorist who had just parked outside her home in Dublin has no recollection of fatally running over her sister-in-law a few moments later, an inquest has heard.

Gardaí believe the driver, Mary Fingleton, may have mistakenly put the transmission in her automatic vehicle into the “drive” position when she intended to reverse.

Her sister-in-law, Mabel Corry, was killed when struck by a vehicle driven by Ms Fingleton as they arrived back from lunch together to Ms Fingleton’s home at Woodside Grove, Churchtown on October 10th, 2018.

Ms Corry (83) of The Crescent, Griffith Downs, Whitehall, died at the scene from her injuries.

In a written statement provided to the Dublin Coroner’s Court, Ms Fingleton, who had her 90th birthday on Monday, said her sister-in-law had called over to her house to go for lunch at the Airfield estate in Dundrum.

When they arrived back, Ms Fingleton said she pulled up her Hyundai i10 on the road as Ms Corry’s car was parked in her driveway.

They chatted in the car for a few minutes before Ms Corry got out to walk towards her own vehicle.

“The next thing I remember is waking up and noticing that the front of my car was embedded in the pillar of the adjoining house,” said Ms Fingleton.

She said she was extremely distressed to find out later in hospital, where she was treated for head injuries, that her sister-in-law had died.

Neither woman had consumed any alcohol on the day.

The inquest heard a number of neighbours arrived on the scene after hearing a loud bang and attempted unsuccessfully to resuscitate Ms Corry.

The coroner, Dr Cróna Gallagher, noted that no mechanical faults had been detected in the 11-D-reg automatic and there was no evidence to suggest Ms Fingleton had suffered any type of medical event at the time.

Garda Lyn Connaughton, a forensic collision investigator, told the inquiry that the fatal accident occurred after the vehicle struck Ms Corry before hitting the pillar of a gateway in the quiet cul-de-sac just before 5pm.

She said there was no evidence of any other person or vehicle being involved in what was described as “a low velocity collision”.

However, Garda Connaughton said Ms Corry’s right shoe was removed by the force of the impact.

She said the victim was probably pushed onto the bonnet of the car before sliding off to the side and hitting her head on the footpath.

Garda Connaughton said evidence from the scene suggested one or more tyres of the vehicle had driven over Ms Corry’s legs.

The inquest heard the victim also suffered numerous skull fractures.

Garda Connaughton said “driver error” seemed to be the only reasonable explanation for the incident.

She said Ms Fingleton may have wanted to reverse her car to allow Ms Corry to pull out of her driveway but had put the automatic transmission into drive mode in error.

Garda Connaughton said this would have caused the car to roll forward slowly, or alternatively the driver could have put her foot on the accelerator.

She said there was “a slight possibility” that two walking sticks belonging to the driver which were close to the accelerator pedal could have been a factor.

The inquest heard that the vehicle had been found in “park” mode after the collision but it was understood a paramedic had secured it to prevent any further movement.

The coroner was informed that the DPP had directed that no prosecution should arise from the incident.

After hearing a postmortem report found Ms Corry had died from severe brain injuries consistent with a road traffic collision, Dr Gallagher returned a verdict of accidental death.