A jury recommended that all foreign vehicles be subjected to the same testing procedures as Irish vehicles in an inquest into the death of a mother and daughter who were killed by a runaway circus trailer in Galway.
Joan (55) and Siobhán (25) Reilly died instantly when a trailer carrying circus equipment became detached from another trailer transporting two elephants and collided head-on with their car.
Mrs Reilly was driving her only daughter to work when the horrific crash took place just before 6am on April 6th last year at Cloonacauneen on the Tuam road, six miles from the city.
Sgt Tom Birmingham was on his way to work when he came upon the accident.Francisco Antonio Hernandez Daria at first told him the driver had run off but admitted at the Garda station that he had driven the lorry.
The lorry, elephants and trailer were owned by the Togni family, who had a contract to work for Circus Vegas, who owned the runaway trailer.
Sgt Tony McHugh told the inquest that tests revealed the circus convoy - nearly 30m long - was "in a dangerously defective condition prior to impact".
A simple clip which should have ensured the trailer did not become detached was found in the driver's door of the lorry, Sgt McHugh said.
Gerry Keeler, manager of the Galway Truck Testing Centre, said the lorry and the two trailers would not have passed an Irish DOE (Department of Environment) test because of multiple defects. "If the trailer had been properly connected to a proper brake supply . . . it would have stopped straight away," he said.
Pathologist Dr John O'Callaghan found Mrs Reilly had suffered a broken neck, with tearing of the aorta and a haemorrhage to the pericardial sac. Her daughter had sustained a fractured skull and a severe brain haemorrhage.
The jury returned a verdict in accordance with the medical evidence and recommended that foreign vehicles be subjected to the same test as Irish vehicles once they enter the country.