Grandmother hit by car metres from home, inquest told

A Galway grandmother suffered fatal injuries when she was struck by a vehicle while crossing a busy road just 50 metres from her home, an inquest has heard.

Peggy Casserly, who was a 75-year-old mother-of-six of Dangan Heights, Newcastle, Galway, was struck by a car on the N59 at Dangan on the outskirts of Galway city on 19 December 2022.

Ms Casserly was rushed by ambulance to University Hospital Galway and transported the following day to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin where she died on 23 December 2022.

The driver of the vehicle, Conor Feeney, told a sitting of Dublin District Coroner's Court that he was driving home from work heading out of Galway on the N59 Clifden road when a woman suddenly stepped out onto the road in front of him.

"I could do nothing to avoid her," said Mr Feeney, who had alerted emergency services to the crash.

In reply to questions from the coroner, Aisling Gannon, Mr Feeney said he was surprised to find someone crossing the road at that location.

He outlined how he had just taken off from a junction with traffic lights and estimated his speed was about 50km/h.

Care worker Chrystal Burke, who came on the scene and attended the victim, said Ms Casserly had laboured breathing which stopped at one stage.

An eyewitness to the accident, Mohammed Elmorsi, recalled how he had gone out for a walk around dusk when he saw an elderly lady crossing the N59 at Dangan towards him at around 4.50pm.

Mr Elmorsi told the inquest that the woman was crossing the road at a slight angle "in a hurried manner" but did not look to her left "at any stage."

"I immediately thought any car coming from Galway would not see her," he added.

Mr Elmorsi said he was about 10 metres from the point where the collision occurred.

"It was almost impossible to avoid the accident," he observed.

The witness also confirmed that the street lights had not yet come on at the time.

The inquest heard that Mr Feeney's vehicle was examined by a public service vehicle inspector and was found to have no defects which could have contributed to the collision.

A forensic collision investigator, Sergeant Declan O’Connor, said the motorist had his headlights switched on at the time and the vehicle was in third gear at the point of the collision.

From an examination of the scene and CCTV footage of the area, Sgt O’Connor estimated that the vehicle was travelling at 37-47km/h at the point of impact which was below the 50km/h speed limit on that stretch of road.

He noted Ms Casserly was about 50 metres from her home, while the closest pedestrian crossing to the scene of the crash was 280 metres away.

The inquest heard that Mr Feeney had tested negative for any alcohol or drugs while driving.

Several eyewitnesses also described how the driver was in shock and "very upset."

The inquest heard that the DPP had examined a garda file on the incident and had directed that no prosecution was warranted.

A post-mortem examination on the victim’s body concluded that the cause of death was severe head injuries consistent with a road traffic collision.

A jury of four men and two women returned a verdict of accidental death.

The coroner offered her condolences to four of Ms Casserly’s adult children who attended the inquest.

The victim’s relatives embraced Mr Feeney at the conclusion of the inquest.