Joyrider died after being hit by garda's torch, inquest told

A TEENAGE joyrider died when he was struck by a garda torch at a police checkpoint, an inquest heard yesterday.

David Herbert, 18, from Donard Avenue, Navan Road, Dublin, suffered a brain haemorrhage after a garda torch hit the side window in a stolen car he was travelling in, striking him on a vulnerable part of his skull.

Garda John Kearns adamantly denied he threw his torch at the car, which passed him at high speeds at a checkpoint near Kells, Co Meath, at around 2.15am on September 23, 2001.