A young mother lost her life in a multi-car pile-up that occurred in "atrocious" driving conditions on the M7 motorway in Kildare earlier this year, an inquest was told.
A verdict of accidental death was recorded at the inquest of Kate Moyles (24), who died when her car struck the back of a fire engine that was making its way through dense fog en route to another traffic incident.
The jury at Naas Coroner's Court yesterday made recommendations to the National Roads Authority and the Road Safety Authority that permanent overhead signs be constructed on all major roads to warn motorists of serious accidents ahead.
"We feel in this case if something was in place perhaps things might have been different," jury forewoman Claire Young told the coroner for Kildare, Prof Denis Cusack.
Ms Moyles, from Lumville, Curragh, Co Kildare, was the mother of a five-year-old girl, Ella. Members of her family were in court to hear how, on the morning of the crash, her VW Polo car struck the back of the fire engine, which was trying to make its way through traffic to attend the scene of another serious traffic incident.
The inquest heard evidence from a number of other witnesses to the pile-up, which occurred on Tuesday, March 27th. The incident, which involved hundreds of motorists and more than 70 vehicles, resulted in the Kildare area's major emergency plan being activated.
The court was told that on the morning of the fatal crash, the area surrounding the M7 and M9 close to Newbridge and Kilcullen in Co Kildare was under "dense and dangerous fog", making visibility and driving conditions extremely dangerous.
Newbridge-based fireman Joe Kelly, who was driving the fire engine involved, said conditions were the worst he had ever seen.
"We drove slow in the slow lane, we had the lights and siren going, visibility was very poor. We never saw the car that hit us from behind. I was shocked. It felt like we were hit by a truck and not a car," he told the court.
Mr Kelly detailed how the crew then set about trying to secure the scene to prevent more vehicles from crashing into the fire engine or the victim's car. He described how, when he attended to Ms Moyles, she was "unresponsive, unconscious but breathing".
Fellow fireman Ger Cauley gave evidence that on initial inspection he believed the young woman was dead, such was the extent of her head injuries.
Evidence was also given by motorist Patrick Little, who was behind both Ms Moyles and the fire crew that morning.
He told the inquest: "I could see the flashing lights of the engine, I saw it slow down and stop. I saw the car still heading towards the engine and I remember thinking, 'That car isn't going to stop.' I didn't see her brake lights, next I saw her hit the back of the fire truck and the wheels lifted off the ground. It was a bad collision."
JJ Fagan of the ambulance service, who was the first medic on the scene, described the morning's driving conditions as "absolutely atrocious".
"The traffic was travelling too hard and not enough people were using their fog lights, in my opinion," he said.
Sgt Donal Prendergast said there was no evidence that evasive action was taken by Ms Moyles as there were no skid marks at the scene.
He told the inquest it was his opinion that the fog, coupled with restricted breaking times because of the close proximity of vehicles to each other, resulted in some 30 incidents that morning on the motorway.
Prof Cusack, the coroner, who came to the scene that morning, said he believed it was "nothing short of a miracle" that more people were not killed.
"Nothing we can do today can bring back Kate. She was a 24-year-old woman who went expecting to return home. Her death impresses upon each of us the responsibility to look after ourselves and each other on the roads," he said.
He thanked the Moyles family for their "bravery" in attending, and for their active participation in the inquest.
Reading from a prepared statement on the steps of Naas courthouse, solicitor for the Moyles Ronald Egan said the inquest had helped them receive closure.
He conveyed the family's wishes that the NRA put in place the recommendations of the jury. "The family hope that other people will learn from this, then Katie's death will not have been in vain," Mr Egan said.