THE MOTHER of an 11-year-old boy killed while cycling has called for new laws requiring all children to wear bicycle helmets.
Marian Wallis was speaking in Limerick yesterday after an inquest on her son Maurice Cahill who died on June 24th last year.
The 11-year-old was fatally injured after he was struck by an Isuzu jeep while cycling on a friend’s bicycle at 6.15pm on the Ardpatrick to Kilmallock road in Co Limerick.
The coroner’s court heard the young boy died as a result of multiple chest and abdominal injuries consistent with being involved in a road traffic collision.
Speaking afterwards the victim’s mother said all children under 18 should be required under law to wear helmets when cycling.
“Even though wearing a helmet would have made no difference to Maurice’s life I cannot understand why it is not illegal for children under 18 to ride a bicycle without a helmet and I know that this would have saved other children in other places,” she said.
“I would say no adult should allow a child to cycle without a helmet and all bicycles should be checked beforehand.”
During the inquest, evidence was heard that Pat McGrath was driving his jeep on the Ardpatrick road when he saw a young boy on a bicycle coming out of the driveway of a house at speed.
In his statement Mr McGrath said he was driving between 30-40 mph and there was nothing he could to do to avoid the collision.
The court heard the 11-year-old boy had been playing at a neighbour’s house and was cycling a friend’s bicycle described as old and not in the best condition.
Speaking afterwards his mother said her family did not blame anybody for her son’s death.
“We would like to make it clear that the other two families involved are our neighbours and our friends and we attribute no blame whatsoever to anybody and we hope our friendship will continue,” she said.
The mother was deeply critical however of the length of time it took before the inquest into her son’s death was heard. “We find it difficult to understand why it took us 53 weeks to find out how our son died,” she said.
During the inquest pathologist Elizabeth Mulcahy said Maurice Cahill would have died almost instantly from his injuries and that resuscitation would not have been possible. Dr Mulcahy also told the court that a helmet would not have made a difference, as there was no evidence of skull fractures.
Speaking afterwards, Maurice’s mother said she had got a sense of closure from the inquest.
Quoting the ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, Ms Wallis, who has one other child, said she lost an anchor the day her son was killed. “Sophocles once said mothers are anchored by their children. We have lost one of our anchors but we will continue.”