A WOMAN who died in a car crash had drunk a fatal dose of alcohol and taken a cocktail of drugs, an inquest heard yesterday.
Mary Connors (24), Blessington Road, Tallaght, a mother of three, died on May 15th, 2010, when the car she was driving went off the road and crashed into a tree. She had been out drinking with friends to celebrate her daughter’s Communion the following day.
Dublin Coroner’s Court was told by her friend Jade Price that Ms Connors had picked up a new car, bought for her by her brother- in-law, earlier that day. That night they went to the Blue Gardenia pub on Blessington Road and were drinking. Ms Price cannot remember what happened next.
Michael McGinley told the court he was passing the Blue Gardenia heading towards Tallaght just before midnight when he spotted a car backing out. He slowed to avoid it but seconds later, it was behind him and driving so close that he could not see the headlights. He increased speed to get away from the car but it followed suit and hit him from behind twice before overtaking. Minutes later he saw the same car in a ditch.
A number of people went to help and found Ms Connors and Ms Price in the car. Ms Connors had been killed instantly, but Ms Price had a faint pulse and was taken immediately to Tallaght hospital.
The postmortem found that Ms Connors died as a result of multiple injuries. The toxicology report showed she was severely intoxicated at the time. Her blood alcohol level was 299mg of alcohol per 100ml of blood – six times the legal limit and fatal for a woman.
She also tested positive for cannabis, cocaine and sedatives.
The jury returned a verdict of death by misadventure.