THE CIRCUMSTANCES of a crash in which two Kilkenny women died were outlined at an inquest yesterday.
Vanessa McGarry (31), wife of Kilkenny hurling goalkeeper James McGarry, was killed in a crash which also killed mother-of- two Mary Lonergan (49) last July.
The jury returned a verdict that Ms McGarry died as a result of severe head injuries and that Ms Lonergan died from severe chest injuries sustained in a road traffic crash at Stroan, Thomastown. An articulated truck, a four-wheel drive and two cars were involved.
Ms McGarry was driving from her home in Paulstown to work in Thomastown when the crash happened shortly before 9.30am on July 17th. Ms Lonergan was driving to the beach in Tramore.
Garda Martin Clarke told the inquest that he received a radio call shortly after 9.20am to go to the scene of an incident. At the scene he spoke to the driver of the truck, Rafal Luszacki.
" 'I no seen behind what happened to the load,' he told me. He broke down and cried as I took a statement from him."
The garda said he saw six coils of steel on the road, each weighing approximately 4.92 tonnes. Emergency services brought the injured and the dead to St Luke's Hospital
The bodies of both women were brought to Waterford Regional Hospital where postmortem examinations were carried out.
A short statement given by Ms McGarry's husband James to gardaí was read out at the inquest.
"Me and my wife got up at 7.15am and Darragh got up around 8am. We had breakfast and I left for work at 8.15am. Vanessa waved goodbye. She was in good form. That was the last time I saw my wife."
Dr Rob Landers, the pathologist who performed the postmortems, told the inquest that Ms McGarry sustained severe cranial trauma injuries and multiple skull fractures and that Ms Lonergan had severe crush injuries to the chest and rib areas and bleeding in the chest cavity.
Coroner Rory Hogan sympathised with both families on the deaths of both women. Supt Pat Mangan offered his condolences to the families on behalf of the Garda.