AN 18-YEAR-OLD youth died after a fall down a stairs in a house in Tralee, Co Kerry, the inquest into his death heard yesterday.
Shane Regan, of Dromkerry, Fossa, Killarney, had been attending a Fás course in Tralee and was staying in a house in Caheranne village, the inquest in Tralee coroner’s court heard.
On August 24th, 2010, after leaving his course early because of a difficulty, he and friends had been drinking vodka in the house in Caheranne, and in Pearse Park, where Mr Regan had fallen asleep.
He returned with his friends by taxi to his accommodation, appeared to sober up, but fell down stairs after backing out of his bedroom. His friends believed him to be asleep, as he was snoring heavily and his pulse was good. He appeared to have no injuries. They covered him with a duvet and left him asleep at the end of the stairs.
He was still in the same position the next morning and his parents arrived from Killarney after being told about his fall. He was taken by ambulance to Kerry General Hospital where he died the next day.
Assistant State Pathologist Dr Margot Bolster told the inquest he had died from severe head injuries and brain damage sustained in the fall. A secondary factor was hypothermia, which had set in despite the fact he had been covered by a blanket. The hypothermia had increased because of the alcohol he had in his system, she said. His blood alcohol level at death was 93mg, but would have been much higher initially, she said. The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence.
Insp Donal Ashe sympathised with the Regan family. Coroner Helen Lucey and the jury also extended their sympathy.