An elderly motorist suffered fatal injuries after his car rear-ended two other vehicles stopped at a temporary traffic lights in south Dublin two and a half years ago, an inquest has heard.
Ms Fitzsimons said her father was still sitting in the driver’s seat of his car when she arrived at the scene. “He kept saying sorry and not to change plans for the weekend,” said Ms Fitzsimons. She explained she found out later that her father’s comment was a reference to the fact that he was aware that her boyfriend was going to propose to her a few days later.
She said he had hit his head off the windscreen of his Opel Astra and could not make sense of how the collision had occurred. Another motorist, Tarny Reilly, told the inquest that she was on her way home at around 9.20pm on December 2, 2021 when her Kia Ceed was hit from behind “without warning” by two other vehicles while stopped at a temporary traffic light on Blackglen Road.
However, he claimed the impact still caused his Toyota Auris to hit the vehicle in front of him. Mr Cron said the airbags in Mr Fitzsimons car had deployed but the driver was not moving when he had checked on the other vehicles. A consultant in emergency medicine at St Vincent’s, John Ryan, said Mr Fitzsimons had vomited and complained of a sore neck but was lucid on arrival at the hospital. Professor Ryan said a scan on the patient showed he had fractured a bone in his neck which he regarded as a significant injury.