THE DANGERS of talking on a mobile phone while driving were highlighted by a coroner yesterday at an inquest into the death of a man who was on the phone when his car hit a tree.
Paul Gerard Monks (33), Huntstown House, Cloghran, Co Dublin died of multiple injuries on July 19th after his Mitsubishi Pajero careered off the road into a ditch on Lyons Road, Co Dublin.
His brother Dwayne Monks was talking to him on the phone when he heard him say, “Oh Jesus, Dwayne.”
“I knew something was wrong, I could hear the fear in his voice,” Mr Monks told an inquest yesterday.
The phone conversation between the brothers lasted 44 seconds, Dublin County Coroner’s Court heard.
Mr Monks was not using a hands-free kit, he was not wearing a seatbelt and the driver’s airbag did not deploy.
Garda Tony Kelly, a scenes of collision investigator, who did not attend the inquest, had found that a “significant contributory factor was driver error probably caused by driver inattention or distraction.”
There was no emergency braking or steering before the impact with the tree.
“We have heard evidence Paul Monks was using a mobile phone at the time of the accident,” said coroner Dr Kieran Geraghty.
“This is a tragic death of a young man. It highlights the dangers of using a mobile phone while driving,” Dr Geraghty added.
The coroner also warned people of the dangers of not wearing a seatbelt.
A jury of six women returned a verdict of death by misadventure under the direction of the coroner.
The vehicle was in good roadworthy condition before the incident.
A qualified nurse, Margaret Harris had left her house a few minutes before coming upon the crash shortly after 11am on July 19th. She went to Mr Monks’s assistance, but found no signs of life.
Paramedic Ann McDermott told the inquest that Mr Monks, who was slumped in the driver’s seat, had no pulse.
Mr Monks was pronounced dead at the scene at 1pm. He was removed to Tallaght hospital by ambulance, where his father Gerard Monks identified the body.
A postmortem found he had died of multiple trauma related injuries due to a road traffic collision.
Dr Geraghty told his parents and other family members who attended the inquest that it was likely that Paul was rendered unconscious immediately.