THE DEATH of a Limerick teenager after the car in which he was sitting was hit from behind by a vehicle driven by former Munster and Ireland rugby player Eddie Halvey was “tragic and unnecessary”, a coroner said yesterday.
Coroner Joe Kelly made his remarks at the adjourned inquest into the death of Kevin Walsh (16) of Sycamore Drive, Bruff.
The teenager was sitting in the rear seat of his uncle’s red BMW when it was hit from behind by a Toyota Landcruiser being driven by Mr Halvey on the main Dublin-Limerick road at Coole, Toomevara, Co Tipperary, four years ago today.
Mr Halvey received a seven-month suspended jail sentence last year arising from the incident after he pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol and careless driving.
Garda Declan O’Carroll of Nenagh Garda station told the inquest at Nenagh courthouse yesterday that the incident occurred on a relatively straight stretch of road at about 5.10am.
When he arrived at the scene he saw Mr Halvey’s jeep embedded in the back of the BMW, in which Kevin Walsh was in a slumped position and appeared to be dead.
Garda O’Carroll said he spoke to Mr Halvey, of Allendale Hall, South Circular Road, Limerick, who told him the BMW had pulled across from the opposite site of the road before impact, but then said it had pulled out from the left.
He said he got a strong smell of drink from Mr Halvey’s breath, his speech was slurred and he was unsteady on his feet. Mr Halvey had told him he had had a few drinks. A subsequent breath test gave a reading of 83 micrograms of alcohol per 100 millilitres.
Vincent Tierney said he and his brother Declan, both uncles of the deceased, were travelling with their late nephew from Bruff to Newry to buy a car. He said when he reached Coole in Toomevara he saw cattle on the road.
He said he pulled in his BMW on to the grass margin, well inside the yellow lines on the side of the road, as he did not want to drive on without removing the cattle to make the route safe for other road users. He saw the lights of a vehicle coming from behind and felt an impact from the rear.
Mr Tierney said he was certain the lights of his vehicle were on and that the hazard lights were working. He was certain that his vehicle was in a stationary position for at least three minutes before the impact occurred.
The other uncle of the deceased, Declan Tierney, a front seat passenger in the BMW, said Mr Halvey came to the window of the car. “I said: ‘Look at what you are after doing, you bastard’, and he said, ‘What?’ ” Declan Tierney said he himself sustained injuries to his back, neck and chest, and was not able to work as a result.
David King, an ambulance paramedic who attended the scene, said Kevin Walsh was taken to Nenagh hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Sgt John Moore, a forensics investigator, said he established that the BMW occupied by the deceased and his two uncles was stationary at the time of the impact. Mr Halvey’s jeep was travelling at a minimum of 69km/h when the impact took place.
The coroner told the jury they had evidence that Mr Halvey was driving carelessly and was drink-driving at the time. It was dark when the impact occurred and Vincent Tierney probably had three sets of lights illuminated on his BMW, “if not two for sure”.
The jury returned a verdict that the death was not accidental but was due to misadventure.
The deceased’s mother Kate Walsh told reporters after the inquest that she was delighted with the verdict. “We will have pain for the rest of our lives but at least we’ll get on with it for Kevin.” Declan Tierney said it would have meant a lot to the family if Mr Halvey had made an appearance at the inquest to apologise.