A young man visiting family in Donegal for Christmas died when he walked onto a roadway into the path of an oncoming car while on his phone to a friend.
Quantity surveyor Sean Heraghty, 26, was visiting the Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy area for the festive season from his home in Glasgow when he perished in the road tragedy in the early hours of December 27th, 2017.
A number of the late man’s family and friends gathered to hear of Sean’s last moments at his inquest which was held at Letterkenny Courthouse.
The court heard that the victim had been earlier spotted staggering on the roadside on the outskirts of Dunfanaghy.
A young motorist, Keelan McFadden from Creeslough, had been out with friends earlier and was leaving some back to Falcarragh around 4.15am.
A statement read to the inquest on Mr McFadden’s behalf told how he was driving into Dunfanaghy at a local area known as The Ceide at Sandhill.
He had dipped his headlights on his silver Volkswagen Passat as he entered the straight.
He then suddenly heard a bang and noticed his wing mirror broke off and he tried to come to a halt.
Realising what had happened, Mr McFadden started to screech with panic and had to be calmed down by his girlfriend Leigh Ann Sharkey from Falcarragh who was also in the car.
Mr McFadden jumped out of the car and saw a boot lying on the road and then came across a body and was sick at the side of the road.
The driver said he saw blood coming from the body and knew the person was dead.
He then heard a voice and noticed a light coming from a mobile phone on the road and a woman’s voice asking “Where are you?”
Mr McFadden then telephoned his father and told him what had happened.
Ms Sharkey said she was scrolling on her phone when the accident happened and all she heard was a bang from the driver’s front door and her boyfriend Keelan screaming.
After he jumped from the car, Ms Sharkey ran after him into the darkness and saw a person lying on the road.
She phoned Mr McFadden’s brother and also called 999 at 4.22am and asked for an ambulance and Gardai saying a person was dead.
She picked up a mobile phone after hearing a woman’s voice and saw the name Nicole or Nicola on it and then she said she waved it in the air to use it as a light.
Local taxi-driver Eamon Harkin then arrived on the scene and asked what had happened and questioned Mr McFadden as to why he had not tried to avoid the person.
Local Garda Brendan O’Connor then arrived on the scene and secured the area and made sure no cars were moved as other Gardai arrived on the scene.
Mr McFadden was tested for alcohol but the test returned negative.
A call was made to Letterkenny Garda Station for a drugs test kit but the court was told that none was available.
At 6.20am the victim was pronounced dead at the scene by a doctor form the NowDoc service.
Garda O’Connor took statements from a number of witnesses and on September 10th met Keelan McFadden and interviewed him about the incident.
Mr Heraghty’s heartbroken aunt Kay Kelly told how she formally identified the body of her nephew.
A number of witness statements from local people Neil Brogan, Mark Langan and Ciaran Harkin were also read at the inquest.
All three said they had noticed a man staggering along the side of the road and Mr Harkin said he had even flashed his lights at oncoming drivers warning them to be careful of the pedestrian.
A test on Mr McFadden’s car by Garda PSV Inspector Damian Mulkearns showed Mr McFadden’s car was in a good serviceable pre-accident condition.
A sample taken from the victim also showed a very high concentration of alcohol in his system.
Garda Forensic Collision Investigator, Sgt Gerard McCauley said he carried out a full investigation of the scene of the accident.
His conclusions included that weather was not a factor in the tragedy, the car involved was in a good serviceable condition and that the victim was not wearing bright clothing and it was dark in the area of the collision.
Sgt McCauley added that because there were no skid marks or cameras in the area of the collision, he could not determine the speed the car was driving at on impact on the road which is governed by a 100kph speed limit.
Coroner Dr Denis McCauley said a post mortem carried out on the late Mr Heraghty showed he suffered a number of injuries to his body which were common to a person hit by the bumper of a car.
However, he also suffered a very significant brain injury which there was no comeback from.
Dr McCauley found that Mr Heraghty, a lifelong Celtic FC fan, died from a brain injury as a result of a road traffic collision and found his death was accidental.
He sympathised with Mr Heraghty’s family saying “This was an accident but happening just after Christmas it was a dreadful time for the family to have to encounter.
“I’m terribly sorry this accident occurred to you and your family.”
