Response of local community and emergency services praised at Clonmel accident inquest

Torrential rain that made the surface of a steep hill road like a “flowing river” was a significant factor in the horrific car accident that resulted in the tragic deaths of four young people in Clonmel in August last year, an inquest at Clonmel Courthouse heard last Thursday.

Tipperary Coroner Joseph Kelly returned verdicts of accidental death in the cases of siblings Luke (24) and Grace (18) McSweeney from Ragwell, Mountain Rd., Clonmel; Nicole Murphy (18) of Toor, Ballypatrick and Zoey Coffey (18) of Lake Drive, Kilsheelan. 

He concluded they each died as a result of suffering severe craniocerebral trauma consistent with being in a road traffic accident at Hillview, Mountain Road, Clonmel at approximately 7.30pm on August 25, 2023.

As he extended his condolences to the McSweeney, Murphy and Coffey families, Mr Kelly said there were “no words to describe the nature of the tragedy and the loss” they suffered. He noted the four deceased had been “in the prime of their lives with so much to look forward to and dreams to fulfil”.

Grace, Nicole and Zoey had received their Leaving Cert results on August 25 last year and were being driven by Grace's brother Luke to meet a bus to bring them to Carlow for a night of celebration with friends, when the accident happened

The inquest heard the four young people died instantly in the accident and were pronounced dead at the accident scene.

The inquest heard a statement from Brigid McSweeney, who told gardai that her daughter, Grace, had received her Leaving Certificate results that morning and her friend Zoey Coffey had come over to their house at Ragwell on the Mountain Road about 2.30pm.

They had spent the afternoon getting ready as they were going out to celebrate and they were joined at around 6.30pm by a friend of Ms Coffey’s, Nikki Murphy, and all three were planning to catch a special bus from Clonmel to go to Carlow to celebrate their results.

“I was going to drop the girls into Tesco to catch the bus to Carlow but Luke was heading into town to go to the gym so he offered to drop them in.”

Ms McSweeney confirmed to gardaí her son was driving, her daughter was in the front seat and her two friends were in the back of the car.

Witness Margaret O’Meara told gardai that she was exiting from her home when she saw a grey car pass the entrance, but she didn’t think it was driving at excessive speed. Another witness, cyclist Niall Burke, said he had not seen any car passing him at excessive speed.

Witness Muireann Morris said she was at home when she heard a loud bang which she thought was a car going over a metal plate left on the road during road works and then she heard a second impact and looked out and saw a car had ended up on its roof and she raised the alarm.

Ms O’Meara, Ms Morris and Mr Burke all reported that there had been torrential rain around the time of the crash.
Det. Insp. Declan Boland said Met Éireann confirmed between 4mm and 7mm of rain fell that day in Clonmel with the bulk of the rain falling between 7.15pm and 7.45pm.

Forensic crash investigator Garda John Coughlan told the inquest it was impossible to establish the exact speed the car was travelling at when it mounted the kerb and struck a small wall at the entrance to the Hillview Sports Centre before spinning around and landing on its roof

However, from examining CCTV footage from a camera 170 metres from the crash site and the speed at which the car passed three poles, he was able to establish it came out of a 90 degree bend at 51km per hour (31.6 miles per hour) before accelerating to a speed of 75km per hour (46.6 miles per hour) on the road which had a 50km per hour limit.

Garda Coughlan said from examining the crash site, he was able to establish that, for an unknown reason, the front left of the car mounted the kerb and then hit a low stone wall before rotating around and flipping over on its roof which caused extensive damage to the car.

Public service vehicle inspector Garda Eamonn Raleigh gave evidence that the two rear tyres on Mr McSweeney’s eight-year-old BMW 4 Series coupé had tread depths below the legal limit of 1.6mm with the wires on the left rear tyre exposed.

He said that having tyres below the legal tread depth was “a dangerous defect” as it affected a car’s grip and traction on a road surface when accelerating, braking and turning, particularly when a road surface was wet.

Garda Raleigh also informed the court the braking and steering systems on the BMW were working properly before impact. He confirmed the car was rear-wheel drive.

After noting that no trace of alcohol or drugs had been found in Mr McSweeney’s system at post-mortem, the Coroner returned a verdict of accidental death in all four cases. 

Mr Kelly said he had looked carefully at the evidence of witnesses who came on the scene of the accident, the witnesses who last saw the vehicle, the emergency services, the forensic collision investigators and Met Éireann weather reports.

He said this was an evening where Clonmel experienced extremely heavy rain that fell in torrents.

The car travelled down a steep hill that evening and he had “no doubt the road was like a flowing river” and the vehicle was travelling over wet terrain.

He said for some unknown reason the car left the roadway, mounted the kerb and hit a wall which resulted in the horrific, tragic collision. 

The Coroner pointed out that the purpose of the inquest was to glean as many facts as possible and try and understand how this tragedy occurred.

Mr Kelly noted there were no witnesses to see the final unfolding of events in this accident and the reports furnished to him related to post the event.

He concluded the appropriate verdict was that the four young people’s deaths were due to an accident.

He extended his sincere condolences to the McSweeney, Murphy and Coffey families on the tragic loss of their loved ones. In doing so, he knew he was reflecting the views of the wider community in Clonmel, Tipperary and beyond as the tragedy had struck a chord with people all over the country.

“There are no words to describe the nature of the tragedy and the loss that took place at Hillview, Clonmel on August 25, 2023 for the McSweeney, Murphy and Coffey families,” he said.

“Luke, Grace, Nicole and Zoey were in the prime of their lives with so much to look forward to and dreams to fulfil. As they set off on their journey that night they could never have imagined the catastrophic and tragic outcome that awaited them.

“This was a defining event for the families, friends, students, teachers and people of Clonmel, Tipperary and the whole of Ireland as they learned of the unfolding tragedy.

“There was an outpouring of grief both locally and nationally and I have no doubt that the families took great solace in the support that they received in those dark days following the accident,” Mr Kelly added.

In a statement read out by their solicitor Padraic Hayes, the McSweeney family on behalf of all three families, thanked the gardaí, ambulance and fire services personnel who attended the accident scene, the gardaí who investigated the accident and liaised with the families for their great assistance to them.

He said they wished to acknowledge the great support shown by the local community, particularly the principals of the Presentation Secondary School, Loreto Secondary School and High School, Fr Michael Toomey, Tipperary University Hospital General Manager Maria Barry and her team at the hospital and local clubs such as St Mary’s and Commercials GAA Clubs and Kool School Gymnastics Club. 

Mr Hayes also thanked the Coroner for conducting the inquest with such great sensitivity.

The Coroner and Garda Insp. Noel Barry joined with Mr Hayes in paying tribute to the gardaí, HSE ambulance and fire services personnel who attended the accident scene on the night.

On behalf of An Garda Síochána, Insp. Barry extended condolences to the McSweeney, Murphy and Coffey families and said they could “only imagine the grief and loss” they were going through. He thanked his colleagues who conducted the accident investigation in very difficult and tragic circumstances and the local community for their assistance with the investigation.