A young Latvian man who threw himself in front of a lorry on Dublin's M1 motorway had recently attended hospital after allegedly taking ecstasy and had made an appointment to attend a psychiatric hospital on the day he died, an inquest has heard.
The 25-year-old man, who had an address at Crescent Gardens, East Wall, Dublin 3, died under the lorry shortly after leaving the Mater hospital, where he had "complained of feeling down", Dublin City Coroner's Court heard yesterday.
While at the Mater he had made an appointment to attend St Vincent's Psychiatric Hospital in Fairview the following week.
After leaving the Mater on October 21st 2004 he walked along the hard shoulder of the M1 near Swords and, according to a driver and a witness, threw himself in front of a lorry.
Coroner Dr Brian Farrell told the court he had received a medical report stating that the young man was seen at the Mater after "allegedly taking ecstasy" the weekend before his death. Dr Farrell adjourned the inquest until November as Garda efforts to contact his family had failed.
Garda Adrian Dunne told the court the deceased man's friend and flatmate said that he had been in good spirits. "He had a girlfriend and was always jovial," he said.
The inquest heard that the man had been living in Ireland for about 18 months, working on a building site. Garda Dunne told the court he sent much of the money he earned home to his family.
Declan McSweeney, the driver of the lorry, said that the man jogged alongside him before he jumped in front of his vehicle.